


Insomnia

by FloofeyMarshmallow



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Psychological Torture, Suicide Attempt, Violence, mentions of self harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-05-11 04:05:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 21,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5613343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FloofeyMarshmallow/pseuds/FloofeyMarshmallow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Don't sleep. Cant sleep. Don't sleep. Can't sleep. Don't sleep. Cant sleep. Don't sleep. Can't sleep. Don't sleep. Cant sleep. Don't sleep. Can't sleep. Don't sleep. Cant sleep. Don't sleep. Can't sleep. Don't sleep. Cant sleep. Don't sleep. Can't sleep. Don't sleep. Cant sleep. Don't sleep. Can't sleep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_“You can’t save them,” the voice spoke in his head. “You can’t save your family.”_

_“Shut up, Bill!” Dipper shouted. “I can protect them! I can protect my family from you and every other supernatural being out there!” He knew he was dreaming. Bill couldn’t communicate with him outside the dreamscape._

_“Oh, yeah?” Bill asked. “How are you gonna protect them without that journal with yours. All I’ve got to do is get my hands on it and you’re finished. Sorry, kid. This round is mine,” Bill said before Dipper woke in a sweaty panting mess. Well, the sweating was normal._

“Dipper?” Mabel asked from across the room. They always woke at the same time. “Did you have a nightmare?” It wasn’t common for Dipper to have nightmares at all. If he did have one, he usually just talked himself back to sleep. He had been doing it since they were very little.

“No,” Dipper answered. “Just…a really weird dream.” He wouldn’t tell Mabel about his dream with Bill. He was sure it wouldn’t happen again.

Dipper went on with his day as usual, though was a bit paranoid when it came to bedtime. Grunkle Stan never set a “bedtime” for them. He just wanted the twins out by the time he was going to bed.

“Dipper?” Mabel asked when she noticed Dipper wasn’t asleep yet. “Are you having trouble falling asleep?” Dipper could tell by her tone of voice that she was worried about him. He didn’t want that. It was _his_ job to worry about _her._ Not the other way around.

“I’m fine,” Dipper responded. He turned over in his bed to face away from Mabel’s side of the room. He could feign sleep and she would never be the wiser.

Dipper was up much longer than he expected to be. After he fell asleep, he found himself speaking with Bill again.

_“Did you miss me, Pine Tree?” Bill asked. “Admit it, you missed me a little.”_

_“You know I didn’t miss you,” Dipper responded. “Why are you harassing_ me _? Surely you can think of something better to do with your time.”_

_“I’m immortal, Pine Tree,” Bill said. “I literally have nothing else to do in my shattering dimension than to bother you. So here I am – bothering you.”_

_“So, what do you want with me, anyways?” Dipper asked. “I mean, you could be in anyone’s mind right now.”_

_“No,” Bill said. “We’re bonded. You and I are connected because I possessed you. You’re stuck with me now.”_

_“For how long?” Dipper asked._

_“As long as I want,” Bill answered._

_“Well, I guess if all you’re going to do is stare at me like that, I could live with this,” Dipper said._

_“Oh, I won’t be sitting here,” Bill said. “I’ll be playing with you.”_

_Before Dipper knew it, he was chained against the wall in his bedroom. He knew this had to be his dream still. Otherwise he would have remembered waking up and being chained._

_“I’m going to have fun with you,” said Mabel in front of him. Dipper knew it was really Bill. Her pupils were slit like his had been when Bill possessed him and the whites of her eyes were yellow._

_“Bill, I know it’s you!” Dipper exclaimed._

_“Don’t worry, you don’t need to think it’s Mabel,” Bill said. “You just need to see her face as she carves into your skin.” After Bill said this, he used Mabel’s body to begin beating on Dipper._

_Dipper let out grunts as he was kicked and punched by the illusion of his twin._

_“It’s just a dream, it’s just a dream,” Dipper chanted to himself. Despite it being a dream, it still hurt. And it hurt emotionally for Bill to be using the image of his twin sister to be doing this to him._

_“Just a dream” Dipper repeated one last time._


	2. Chapter 2

Dipper woke again after his nightmare with a start. He turned and saw that Mabel was already out of bed. Wait, what? Mabel up before him?

“Mabel?” Dipper asked, though he stayed in bed. Suddenly, Stan and Mabel were walking into the room. “Grunkle Stan?” Dipper asked. The only time Stan ever went into their room was when something was wrong. Stan walked over to him and felt his forehead. “What are you doing?” Dipper asked.

“I guess he does feel a little warm,” Stan said to Mabel, ignoring Dipper’s question. “I’ll get Soos to make him some soup or something.”

“What are you talking about?” Dipper asked. “I’m not sick.”

“Dipper, you’ve been sleeping all day; it’s noon,” Mabel said. “We always wake up at the same time, Dipper. I thought you were sick, so I got Grunkle Stan. I was worried.”

“Well, I’m fine,” Dipper said, getting out of bed. He was stopped by a finger from Stan pointing him back into bed. “What?” Dipper asked in a disappointed tone. He had expected Stan to just let him go out and work. It wasn’t like Stan to care about something like this.

“If you’re sick and you get near my customers, they’ll get sick and they won’t come back to spend money,” Grunkle Stan said. “Now get your butt back into bed.”

“I’m not sick,” Dipper grumbled as he slid back into bed.

“I’m sorry, Dipper, but I was worried about you,” Mabel apologized.

“Just go,” Dipper said. After a few moments, Dipper rolled over in bed and groaned. He felt just like he had before, in his dream; like someone had been beating him. Dipper sat up in bed, raising his shirt to see fresh bruises coating the tender skin on his stomach and chest.

“What the…?” Dipper asked himself before remembering what Bill had said.

_“You’re mine now.”_

_“For how long?”_

_“As long as I want.”_

* * *

“Dipper?” Mabel asked when she returned to their room. “Are you feeling better?” Dipper didn’t know how long it had been. He had been trying to read up on Bill from his journal. “Hey, you were supposed to be getting some sleep.”

Dipper rolled his eyes. There was no way he would be falling asleep until he found out how to get rid of Bill.

“I’m not tired because I’m not sick,” Dipper answered. “I’ll sleep later when I’m actually tired.” He had no intention of doing this.

“But Grunkle Stan said you had a fever,” Mabel said.

“I don’t have a fever,” Dipper responded. “I just need to read.”

“What are you reading about?” Mabel asked.

“It’s nothing important,” Dipper fibbed.

“Are you actually not going to tell me?” Mabel asked.

“I need to figure out what it is before I bother telling anyone.”

“Are you sure you’re not sick?” Mabel asked.

“I’m sure.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

After getting everyone to believe he wasn’t sick, Dipper moved to do more research on Bill. Unfortunately, he only had the third journal. The only information about Bill in his journal was that no one should summon him and that he was an all-powerful demon. Dipper frowned. He wasn’t even the one to summon him, Gideon was.

Dipper couldn’t even figure out a way to get rid of bill, or at least stop him from being able to enter his dreams.

“Dipper? You don’t look so good, dude,” Soos said when Dipper walked into the gift shop.

“I’m fine,” Dipper said. “I’m not sick.”

“I believe you, man,” Soos said. “You just look a little pale is all.”

“I probably just need some fresh air,” Dipper responded. If he could sneak to the roof, he could work without interruption. “I’ll be outside if anyone needs me.” They wouldn’t be able to find him on the roof anyway. He was never up there by himself.

Dipper climbed to the roof where he read through the journal for the hundredth time. He continued reading until suddenly it was dark and he could hear Mabel calling him.

“Dipper!” Mabel called. “Come on, it’s time for you to do your nerdy journal thing and talk to me!” Dipper knew she was talking about him writing in his journal before bed and them talking about their day together.

Dipper frowned at the realization that he would have to go to sleep soon. He was concerned about seeing Bill again. Especially if the beatings carried on outside the dreamscape.

Dipper left the roof and sneaked into the attic before Mabel could see that he was sneaking around. When he got to the attic, Dipper removed his vest and shoes before climbing into bed.

Mabel walked into the room moments after this. Dipper was feigning sleep to avoid Mabel’s concerned tone.

“Dipper?” Mabel asked when she looked over to him. “Are you sleeping already?” Dipper didn’t move. “Goodnight, Dipper…” Mabel said with a disappointed tone after a few moments. She and Dipper usually spoke with each other before bed every night, even before they had arrived at the Mystery Shack. Mabel got into bed and was soon peacefully asleep.

_Suddenly, Dipper was in the forest outside the Mystery Shack. He didn’t remember walking there and knew he was dreaming. He must have fallen asleep despite his efforts to avoid it._

_Mabel was standing in front of him. She must have been placed there by Bill to beat him up again._

_“Dipper?” Mabel asked. Her pupils weren’t slit and the whites of her eyes were still white. She looked like the real Mabel. “Why, Dipper?”_

_“What are you talking about?” Dipper asked._

_“Why did you make a deal with Bill?” Mabel asked._

_“I didn’t!” Dipper protested._

_“Why?!” Mabel shouted. “You’re not even my brother anymore!” She lunged at him. Dipper didn’t even try to duck. It was Bill’s world. He had no power here._

_Mabel pushed Dipper down to the ground, wrapping her hands around his neck. She began choking him. Dipper panicked when his air supply was cut off. He knew bruises carried over from the dreamscape, but he had no idea what would happen if he_ died _in the dreamscape._

_“Don’t take my brother, you evil triangle!” Mabel exclaimed as she continued choking him. Dipper couldn’t breathe. His vision was fading._

_Everything was black._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much, everyone, for the positive reviews! I just finished writing chapter ten, and basically, I'm posting a chapter every time I finish one of the other chapters. I figure that way no one will ever have to wait very long for a new chapter. Thanks, guys!


	4. Chapter 4

“Dipper?” Mabel asked, shaking Dipper a bit to wake him up. “Dipper!” Dipper opened his eyes, seeing that his sister was practically on top of him. Just like in the dream.

Was this real? Was this another one of Bill’s tricks? Dipper gasped, pushing Mabel off of him and onto the floor.

“Dipper!” Mabel exclaimed. She hadn’t expected to be pushed onto the floor.

“Just stay away from me!” Dipper shouted.

“Why? What did I do?” Mabel asked. She reached a hand out to her brother, but Dipper slapped it away. “Dipper?”

“How do I know?” Dipper asked.

“Know what?” Mabel asked as Dipper curled into a ball on his bed. “Dipper, talk to me!”

“Stay away from me, Bill!” Dipper shouted.

“Bill?” Mabel asked. “The triangle guy?” But Mabel couldn’t get any more answers from her brother. Dipper had pushed himself up against the wall beside his bed and was mumbling about the journal under his breath.

It was then Mabel saw bruises on Dipper’s neck.

“Grunkle Stan!” Mabel called. “Grunkle Stan, something’s wrong with Dipper!”

“What’s wrong?” Grunkle Stan asked when he reached the room at Mabel’s shouting.

“He’s got bruises all over his neck and he’s mumbling like he’s crazy,” Mabel explained. Stan reached his hand out to Dipper’s neck, but the boy slapped him away just as he had done before with Mabel’s hand.

“Dipper, do you have any more bruises?” Stan asked. He received no response. “Where did you get the bruises?” Once again, no response.

“He could have gotten them from the monsters he had been hunting,” Mabel said.

“There is no such thing as monsters,” Stan responded. “He got these bruises from somewhere and isn’t telling, so he’s grounded until he does.” Dipper didn’t need to leave the Shack. He needed to stop Bill. “And I’m taking that journal until he fesses up,” Stan added.

It was then that Dipper broke out of his mumbling.

“No!” Dipper exclaimed suddenly.

“Are you gonna tell me who did this?” Stan asked.

Dipper knew he couldn’t tell. He couldn’t just say that Mabel had been the one to do this because she hadn’t. Bill had been using her to get to him. Not anymore.

Dipper vowed not to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dipper's alive, everyone! I think this is one of the shortest chapters, but I don't really intend for the chapters to be super long. I also want to add that this is actually my first time ever writing a Gravity Falls fanfiction.
> 
> Also, I'm getting my first tattoo tomorrow! :D


	5. Chapter 5

“Dipper?” Mabel asked after Stan left the room. Dipper sat on his bed, mumbling about the journal once again. He would have to either retrieve the journal from Stan or to figure out this mess on his own. “You have bags under your eyes,” Mabel said.

“I’m not tired,” Dipper snapped. He felt more tired coming out of the nightmares than when he would go into them.

“Will you tell me where you got those bruises?” Mabel asked.

“No…” Dipper trailed off.

“Dipper, if it was a monster, I can help you,” Mabel said. “I can try and get Grunkle Stan to give you back your journal.”

“Yeah…” Dipper trailed off again. “Something like that.” Mabel frowned. She had never seen her brother like this. She didn’t know how to fix this.

The next morning when Mabel woke, she could see that Dipper was in the exact spot she had last seen him.

“Dipper?” Mabel asked again. She felt like all she had been doing lately was worry about Dipper – something she rarely did. “Maybe you should go downstairs and have some breakfast?” Mabel suggested.

“That’s a good idea,” Dipper agreed quietly.

He got out of bed for the first time in forever. Walking together, the twins made their way to the kitchen where they sat at the table.

“I thought I was gonna have to send Soos up to you with breakfast,” Stan said when he saw Dipper following behind Mabel.

“I thought you wouldn’t ground me and take my journal over something so stupid,” Dipper muttered under his breath.

“I’d give it back if you’d just fess up and tell us who did that to your neck,” Stan said. Dipper ignored him. “Kid, if you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’ve got no choice but to call your parents.”

“What?!” Mabel exclaimed. “No! You can’t call them! They’ll just make us go back home!”

“I hate to break it to you, Mabel, but that might be what Dipper needs,” Stan said. “Whoever’s doing this is here. They won’t follow Dipper back to California”

 _Yes they will,_ Dipper thought.

Dipper ate the breakfast he was given in silence before returning to his room.

“Grunkle Stan, do you think Dipper was with the person doing this when he disappeared yesterday?” Mabel asked.

“I don’t know, sweetie,” Stan said. “But your brother needs to get out of dodge. I’m trying to protect him from the person responsible, but if that doesn’t help…”

“You’ll have to call our parents,” Mabel finished.

“It’s for the best, Mabel,” Stan reminded.

“I know…” Mabel trailed off. “I’m just not ready to go home.”

“I know, but if this person is hurting Dipper, they could hurt you too,” Stan reasoned.

* * *

_“Hello?”_ Mrs. Pines asked when she received a phone call during the day.

“Ariel?” Stan asked. “We’ve got a problem.”

 _“What kind of problem?”_ Ariel asked.

“Someone’s hurting Dipper.”

* * *

 

**Ha! I’m totally using Alex and Ariel’s names for Dipper and Mabel’s parents! I mean, they _were_ the inspiration for the Pines twins. **

**In addition, I didn't finish another one of the other chapters, I just seriously felt like I had spent too long away from posting.**


	6. Chapter 6

Ariel and Alex Pines were on the next flight to Gravity Falls. They would be finding out just who was hurting their child and they would deal with it accordingly. No one hurt their youngest baby without a fight.

Dipper continued to fight sleep that night, so when his parents pulled up in a rented car, he had heard it. Quietly, Dipper sneaked out of the attic to rush downstairs. Not even Grunkle Stan was ever up this early.

Dipper was surprised to see his parents speaking with Soos in the gift shop. Just how early did Soos even come in for work?

“So, you’re the handyman?” Ariel asked.

“Yeah, that’s me,” Soos said. “Dude, your kids are rad. I love them guys.”

“How much?” Alex questioned. Of course they would immediately be suspicious of the handyman.

“They’re my friends,” Soos said. “I look out for them and they look out for me.”

“Mom? Dad?” Dipper asked, making his presence known. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Oh my god…” Ariel trailed off. “Dipper, you look awful.” Dipper hadn’t checked the mirror, but he knew he had to look pretty bad.

Ariel came closer to her son, getting down on her knees to be level with him. She ran her hands lightly over the bruises on his neck, to which he winced. They were still pretty painful.

“My god, Dipper…Who did this to you?” Ariel asked.

“No one did anything to me,” Dipper fibbed.

Grunkle Stan suddenly appeared out of his bedroom, fully dressed.

“Sorry to keep you guys waiting,” Stan said. “Morning, Dipper. Did you sleep at all last night?”

“What’s it to you, tattle tale?” Dipper snapped. He was feeling the effects from losing sleep.

“It’s for your own good, Dipper,” Stan said.

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” Alex asked.

“No,” Dipper fibbed, bringing his hand to cover his neck. Unfortunately, Ariel then saw Dipper’s wrist, which was bruised from being chained up. It was an older bruise, but it was still there.

“He’s lying,” Ariel choked out. “Dipper, you don’t lie. You just don’t….”

“I’m not….” Dipper trailed off.

“Just tell us if you’re hurt anywhere else,” Alex persisted.

“Okay, my wrists, but that’s it,” Dipper continued to fib.

“He’s lying,” Mabel said suddenly from the top of the stairs.

“Mabel?” Dipper asked. “I’m not lying! Whose side are you on?”

“I’m on your side; I always am,” Mabel said. “I’m just trying to get you better. I saw your chest and stomach while you were sleeping, but I haven’t been able to check for anything else because you don’t sleep anymore.”

“So, what? You just go around stripping me and checking for injuries in my sleep?” Dipper asked.

“You were grabbing your stomach like you were in pain,” Mabel said. “I was trying to help.”

“Show us, Dipper,” Stan ordered.

“No,” Dipper protested.

“Dipper…” Ariel trailed off. “Please show me. I just want to help you.”

“I’m not showing anyone anything,” Dipper continued to protest.

“Soos,” Stan ordered. Suddenly Soos was holding onto Dipper while Stan removed the boy’s shirt. Ariel placed a hand over her mouth when she saw the bruises littering her son’s chest.

“Mabel,” Alex called. “Please pack you and your brother’s things. We’re going home.”

Mabel looked down to the ground.

“Okay, dad,” she said in a disappointed tone. She knew it was best for her brother, but she couldn’t help but be disappointed that her first summer vacation was ended early.

“Dipper, stay in the gift shop. I’ll be speaking with your parents in my office,” Stan said. He walked with the two into his office, shutting the door behind them.

“Dipper?” Soos asked when the boy sat on a stool, upset about what had just happened, after pulling his shirt back on.

“What, Soos?” Dipper asked.

“I know you’re mad, but Stan’s only trying to do what he thinks will help you, little dude.”

“What’s right would be letting me stay here and giving me back my journal,” Dipper said. “I _need_ to finish this research.”

“No research is more important than your safety,” Soos responded.

* * *

“How did this happen?” Ariel asked when she sat in front of Stan’s desk. “How did I send a happy boy here and come get someone who doesn’t even act like my son anymore?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Stan said. “He found an old journal and got a little obsessed with it.”

“A journal?” Alex asked.

“It’s more like a fake mystery cop-out,” Stan said. “He just woke up one day mumbling something about the journal, covered in bruises, and refused to sleep.”

“It sounds like something in that journal spooked him,” Alex said.

“Then how do you explain the bruises?” Ariel mentioned. “Someone must be hurting him. Is there anyone in this town who would hurt him?”

“Everyone in this town is as dumb as a bag of rocks,” Stan said. “You two take the kids home. I’ll look out for the person who did this on my end.”

“Don’t tell anyone where we live,” Alex said. “That way no one can find him.”

“Of course,” Stan responded. The three then returned to the gift shop where Dipper had dressed himself in his usual everyday attire and Mabel had returned with their bags.

“Got a new hat, huh, champ?” Alex asked, taking notice of the blue and white cap that was identical to the ones on display in the gift shop sitting on his son’s head. Stan must have given it to him. Dipper loved to wear hats to hide his birthmark, though his bangs were so long, they hardly showed anyway.

“Yeah,” Dipper said glumly.

“You should get some sleep on the plane,” Ariel insisted, seeing the bags under her son’s eyes.

“I’m not tired,” Dipper snapped.

Ariel frowned. “Let’s go, kids. We have a car out front.” After Ariel said this, Mabel ran to Stan and began hugging him. Soos joined in on the hug.

“Bye, sweetie,” Stan said. When Mabel let go of him, she ran outside to the car. “Bye, Dipper,” Stan added. The boy twin only looked away from Stan. He moved to leave as Mabel had, but stopped.

“Dipper?” Alex asked.

“Can I have my journal back, Grunkle Stan?” Dipper asked. He couldn’t defeat Bill without it.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Ariel said. “We’ll be talking more about this journal later.” Ariel then gripped Dipper’s shoulders just roughly enough to walk him out the door and to the car.


	7. Chapter 7

“What are you doing?” Alex asked when he saw his wife mixing a sleeping aid in their son’s juice.

“He’s not sleeping, Alex,” Ariel said. “If he doesn’t sleep, he’ll hurt his body. He’s tired; I know it. All we have to do is give him a little push,” Ariel explained.

Dipper hadn’t slept since they returned home. Mabel confirmed it with the two sharing a bedroom together, as they had since birth.

“Are you sure about this?” Alex asked.

“I phoned a doctor today, who told me it was perfectly fine,” Ariel said. “I’ve also scheduled him an appointment with a psychiatrist.”

“I thought we agreed not to do that,” Alex said.

“That was before he wasn’t getting better. There’s three more weeks before school starts and I want him better by then. Or at least functioning,” Ariel responded. “He won’t talk about the journal and he’s not sleeping.”

“Fine,” Alex relented. “If you think this is for the best, so be it.”

When Ariel finished mixing the juice, she brought it to her son, who was confined to his bed. He didn’t have the energy to do much more. Alex had placed a television in the twins’ bedroom just because of it.

“Here, sweetie,” Ariel said as she handed the juice to her son.

Dipper quietly drank from it before saying, “This tastes weird.” His voice was hoarse from lack of sleep.

“I put vitamins in it,” Ariel said. It wasn’t completely a lie. “It’ll help you get better.”

“Nothing will help me without my journal,” Dipper responded.

“Just rest,” Ariel said. She looked to Mabel, who was sitting on her own bed. “Call me if he needs anything,” Ariel instructed. Mabel nodded before Ariel left the room.

* * *

_“You were away for a while,” Bill commented._

_“I was trying to avoid you,” Dipper said. “I guess it didn’t work.”_

_“It’s because your mom laced your drink,” Bill explained._

_“She wouldn’t,” Dipper responded._

_“She called a psychiatrist for you too. Make sure you don’t mention me. They’ll think you’re crazy,” Bill said._

_“Mabel will believe me,” Dipper said._

_“Okay, enough banter. Let’s get this show on the road.”_

* * *

Dipper managed to get out of bed after the sleep he had gotten, but not without a few new bruises. Bill was smart to keep them hidden.

“Morning, Dipper,” Mabel said at the breakfast table.

“I was going to bring something up to you,” Ariel said. “I thought you would sleep longer.”

“I’m not hungry,” Dipper said. He didn’t want to be drugged again.

“You need to eat to get better,” Ariel reminded. “Are you sure you’re not hungry?”

“I’m sure,” Dipper answered.

“Well, let me know when you do get hungry. I’ll make you something fresh,” Ariel responded, not wanting her son to go hungry. Dipper only turned and walked back up the stairs. “He slept all night, right?” Ariel asked Mabel.

Mabel nodded. “All of yesterday afternoon and all night,” Mabel clarified.

“He still has bags under his eyes,” Alex commented.

“I’ll just have to keep giving him the medicine,” Ariel said. Mabel picked at her breakfast quietly.

Alex went to work and Mabel returned to her and Dipper’s room. She was going through her scrapbook from their trip to Gravity Falls and watching over Dipper when their mother walked in.

“Dipper, we’re going to the doctor today,” Ariel announced. “I need you to get dressed for me.”

“I’m not going to a psychiatrist,” Dipper protested calmly from his bed.

“Dipper, I will not hesitate to take you in your pajamas,” Ariel said.

“Let’s go,” Dipper said, too tired to continue protesting. He didn’t change – he slept in a t-shirt and shorts anyways – only putting his shoes on and walking out to their car. Mabel followed.

* * *

“Hello, Llamanic,” the psychiatrist greeted.

“It’s Dipper,” Dipper responded.

“Oh?” the psychiatrist asked. “Why do they call you ‘Dipper’?”

Dipper made no moves to show the doctor. He was too tired and he didn’t like showing off his birthmark.

“All right, we can move on. Your mother says you haven’t been sleeping.”

“Not until she drugged me to get me to sleep,” Dipper said.

“She also mentioned you were being abused when you were living with your uncle,” the psychiatrist brought up. “Was it your uncle who was hurting you?”

“Why would my uncle call my parents and tell them I was being abused if he were doing it?” Dipper asked.

The psychiatrist wrote something down on a clipboard.

“Sometimes to throw the parents off the trial,” the psychiatrist said.

“He didn’t hurt me,” Dipper said. “No one hurt me.”

“Can I see your wrists and neck?” the psychiatrist asked. Dipper looked at his nametag. Doctor Warren.

Dipper hesitantly allowed Doctor Warren to look at the aged bruises on his wrists and neck. Before Dipper knew it, the man was taking polaroids of them.

“Hey!” Dipper protested, snapping himself away from the psychiatrist.

“Sorry; it’s for your case file,” Doctor Warren said. “I’d like to get a picture of your face too, if I may.”

“Why?” Dipper asked.

“It’s for when your treatment is over so we can compare before and after treatment,” Doctor Warren explained.

 _Treatment?_ Dipper thought as he reluctantly allowed the doctor to photograph him.

After their appointment was over, Ariel and Doctor Warren spoke privately in his office.

“Well?” Ariel asked.

“He obviously has a serious case of insomnia,” Doctor Warren said. “I’m sending in a prescription for sleeping medication. The dosage is adjusted to his measurements to avoid overdose.”

“What about the journals?” Ariel asked.

“When I brought them up, he clamped up. He wouldn’t speak to me for the rest of the session,” Doctor Warren said. “He and I need to establish trust before I can ask him more about it. It seems as though that journal has something to do with this.”

“Just hurry,” Ariel pleaded. “I’m worried about him.”

“Just have him take the medicine. We’ll see how it goes from there,” Doctor Warren instructed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I used the name that was posted on twitter as supposedly being Dipper's name. I really wish we knew his real name!


	8. Chapter 8

Dipper hadn’t eaten anything given to him by his mother, trying to avoid being drugged again. He hadn’t seen Mabel coming with the drugged soup she claimed to have made herself.

* * *

_“Bro, your mom’s making you take sleeping pills,” Bill said._

_“I’m not your brother,” Dipper responded._

_“Not the point, Pine Tree. You gotta stop this psychiatry stuff,” Bill warned. “If you don’t, they’re gonna crack you and put you in a hospital for good.”_

_“Leave me alone,” Dipper said. “What do I have to do to get you to leave me alone?”_

_“Lend me your body,” Bill answered._

_“No,” Dipper protested. “Not after what you did last time.” He didn’t need a demon who loved the feeling of pain to be inside of him._

_“Oh, come on,” Bill said. “I’ll only have it for ten minutes. After that, you’re free to take your body back forever.”_

_“No,” Dipper said again. His freedom wasn’t worth giving Bill his body for any amount of time. What if Bill hurt his family using him?_

_“Fine. You’re stuck with me.”_

* * *

Dipper woke hoping the dream had been a dream. Of course, all the other dreams had been real.

“Oh my god…” Dipper trailed off. Both of his wrists had been cut vertically and were bleeding profusely. He was done for. He would die.

Would he spend eternity with Bill?

Mabel wasn’t in the room. She didn’t see the cuts appear on his wrist. She couldn’t vouch for him.

Dipper was prepared to let himself bleed out. Anything was better than having Bill in his head when no one would help him. Dipper allowed his eyes to close.

He was tired.

He was tired of fighting a losing battle.

He was tired of fighting his parents.

He was tired of seeing Mabel tormenting him in his nightmares.

Dipper allowed himself to fall back asleep.

* * *

Ariel was cleaning when she walked to her twins’ bedroom. She was planning on cleaning up laundry, knowing her son would go weeks without washing laundry if he could. When Ariel walked into the room, though, she was greeted with her son bleeding on his bed.

Ariel thought he would have been sleeping much longer with the medication she had Mabel give him. Ariel had even sent Mabel into the living room to watch reruns of Ducktective so she wouldn’t disturb Dipper’s slumber.

“Oh my god!” Ariel exclaimed. She grabbed Dipper, wrapping his blankets around his arms to prevent further bleeding.

“Mom?” Mabel asked, approaching her bedroom.

“Mabel, don’t come in here,” Ariel ordered. She didn’t want her daughter to see something like this. “Get me the phone, all right? Leave it outside the door and go back to the living room”

“Okay,” Mabel said. She hastily grabbed their phone, leaving it outside their bedroom door. “It’s here, mom,” Mabel announced before returning to the living room.

* * *

“Mom?” Dipper asked groggily when he heard his mother speaking with someone. He cracked open his eyes to see there was an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose – no wonder his voice sounded muffled – there were also other people in the room.

“It’s okay, sweetie. You’re being taken to the hospital,” Ariel said. Thankfully, the paramedics who came to their home were able to stop the bleeding.

“The hospital?” Dipper asked. He suddenly remembered what happened. Bill had tried to kill him because Dipper wouldn’t make a deal. “No, mom, I can’t go to the hospital.”

“I’m sorry, baby, but you have to go,” Ariel said. Dipper looked around to see there were bandages on his arms and he was buckled into a gurney, probably for transport to the hospital.

“No, what about Mabel?” Dipper asked.

“I’m riding in with you and your father’s bringing Mabel after,” Ariel explained. “I called him home from work after I called the ambulance.”

“No, mom; I can’t go!” Dipper protested.

“We’ll be sedating him for transport,” a paramedic said quietly to Ariel, but Dipper caught it. Dipper then noticed an IV insertion in his hand. The paramedic placed a syringe inside, pumping something into him.

It didn’t take Dipper long to fall back into the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I've decided to do something special just for the readers on Ao3 since I have so many chapters of this already written. I'm doing a contest. 
> 
> The contest is fanart. Everyone who reads this can submit art from this fanfiction to my DeviantArt, my tumblr, or my email. 
> 
> floofeymarshmallow.deviantart.com
> 
> floofeymarshmallow.tumblr.com
> 
> slitasume@gmail.com


	9. Chapter 9

_“You’ve gone and done it now, Pine Tree,” Bill said. “Now you’re in the hospital. They’ll lock you up and throw away the key.”_

_“Shut up,” Dipper said. “Mabel will help me. She always does.”_

_“Sure,” Bill responded, rolling his eye. “But what happens next summer when she’s given the opportunity to go back to Gravity Falls and you’re not?”_

_“Mom and dad won’t let us go back there,” Dipper said. “They think I was being abused by a person.”_

_“Actually, the doctors are now telling your parents you did everything to yourself,” Bill explained. “When ‘Mabel’ was torturing you, she left bruises in the shape of her handprints. They match your shape because you’re twins.”_

_“So she can go back to Gravity Falls?” Dipper asked. Bill only stared at him. “Then I’ll go with her, get my journal back, and figure out how to get rid of you.”_

_“Oh, they’ll help you get rid of me. I’ll disappear son, but I’ll always be back.”_

* * *

Dipper groaned, seeing that he was in the hospital. His wrists had been stitched up and were in bandages. He noticed he was alone, but…

“Bill?!” Dipper exclaimed. The demon was floating over his bed. “What are you doing? Am I still asleep?!”

“Nope,” Bill answered. “By cutting you up, I was able to get out. I can’t sustain this form for long, though, and you’re the only one who can see me.”

“This has to be some sick joke,” Dipper said with another groan.

“Sorry, kid,” Bill said with a laugh. “Oh, I think I hear someone coming!” The door then opened, revealing Doctor Warren.

“Hello, Dipper,” the psychiatrist greeted. “I thought I heard you speaking with someone in here.”

“Just me, myself, and I,” Dipper joked.

“Were you talking to yourself?” Doctor Warren asked.

“It was a joke,” Dipper responded.

“You gave your family quite the scare, Dipper,” Doctor Warren said. “I know you won’t like it, Dipper, but I believe it would be best if you spend some time here.”

“Here?” Dipper asked.

“You’re at a special psychiatric facility for children your age,” Doctor Warren explained. “Unfortunately, you’re listed as a suicide risk because of what happened.”

“I didn’t do that,” Dipper said, though quickly shut up. He couldn’t just say that a demon had done it while he was sleeping.

“Then who did it?” Doctor Warren asked. After a few minutes without an answer, the psychiatrist sighed and left the room.

“How is he?” Ariel asked when Doctor Warren shut the door behind him.

“He’s awake and stable,” Doctor Warren answered.

“What does stable even mean for him anymore?” Ariel asked under her breath.

“He did say something that caught my attention,” Doctor Warren mentioned. “When I brought up that he would be staying here, he said he didn’t do it. I don’t know what ‘it’ is, but I can only assume he’s speaking of his suicide attempt.”

“What do you mean he didn’t do it?” Ariel asked.

“Sometimes patients who do something like this and claim they didn’t have an undetected mental illness, and they truly believe they weren’t the one to do this,” Doctor Warren explained. “I’ll be personally working to diagnose him. Once we find a diagnosis, we can work on treating him.”

“And then he can come home?” Ariel asked.

“You can take him home any time you’d like, Mrs. Pines,” Doctor Warren answered. “We just need to work together in order to make him _safe_ at home. And you’ll be able to visit him as much as you’d like.”

“I’ll definitely have to bring Mabel to see him,” Ariel said.

“A sibling?” Doctor Warren asked.

“She’s his twin sister,” Ariel answered. “They’re very close.

“If they are as you say, it’s a good idea to have the two together as much as possible,” Doctor Warren said. “You don’t want to change his routine too much. He’ll already be going through a drastic change with staying here and being away from his family.”

“I’ll be here as much as possible, along with my daughter,” Ariel said.

“I should have a diagnosis ready for you by the end of the week,” Doctor Warren informed Ariel. “It all depends on his full cooperation.”

“Thank you.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On FFN, I posted a cipher that everyone had to guess, and since I really enjoyed seeing everyone guess the cipher, I decided to do a new cipher every chapter that will sort of give a hint to the next chapter. This isn't a contest or anything, but I just wanted to give you guys the chance to have a little preview if you work for it. In the spirit of Gravity Falls, here is the new cipher:
> 
> SXW DQ HQG WR ELOO.


	10. Chapter 10

“Dipper, why don’t you tell me about your life in Gravity Falls?” Doctor Warren asked. He and Dipper were already halfway through their hour session and so far, the psychiatrist hadn’t gotten a thing out of the boy.

“What about it?” Dipper asked.

“You were staying with your great uncle, yes?” Dipper nodded. “Tell me a bit of what he’s like.”

“Grunkle Stan is a grumpy old man who turned his house into a tourist trap,” Dipper said with a shrug.

“Anything else?” Doctor Warren asked. Dipper only shrugged again. “Did you do anything fun there?” the psychiatrist asked.

“Yeah; I hung out with Mabel and…” Dipper trailed off. If he said anything about his mystery hunts or the journal, he would surely be in for it.

“What did you do with Mabel?” the doctor asked.

“We just hung out at the Mystery Shack and we had a few friends,” Dipper said. He left out the majority of the details, but it was enough to get Doctor Warren off his case about Gravity Falls. Not something else, though.

“What about reading your journal? Did you do that?” Doctor Warren could see Dipper visibly tense at the mentioning of the journal. He was glad Mrs. Pines brought it up to him. “What upset you about what I said?” Doctor Warren asked.

“Nothing,” Dipper fibbed.

“Then tell me about this journal,” the doctor instructed.

“It’s just some mystery journal I found in the woods in Gravity Falls,” Dipper explained. He didn’t see the harm in explaining what the journal was. “It had stuff about…demons and paranormal investigation stuff in it.”

“Demons?” Doctor Warren asked. “Do you believe in demons, Dipper?”

“I mean, everyone has something they believe in,” Dipper deflected.

“But do you?” Doctor Warren asked. Dipper shrugged. “Was that who hurt you? A demon?” Dipper gave Doctor Warren a long stare. “Thank you, Dipper.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Dipper said.

“You didn’t have to.”

* * *

“Dipper!” Mabel called as she ran through the hallway to get to Dipper’s room.

“Hey,” Dipper said when Mabel jumped on top of his bed, ruining the puzzle he had been working on. Dipper didn’t mind, just glad to see his twin.

“Mom’s taking me shopping for school clothes tomorrow,” Mabel said. “I wish you were going with. We always do this together.”

“Doctor Warren said I’ll be tutored here,” Dipper said. “Besides, all I wear here are pajamas, so I doubt I’ll need school clothes. It’ll be like home schooling.”

“I still wish we were going together,” Mabel responded.

“Well, maybe I’ll get out of here soon,” Dipper said. “Besides, we’ll definitely be going to our first day of high school together.” _I hope,_ Dipper added internally.

“Yeah we will,” Mabel said with a smile.

Ariel watched her children from outside her son’s room. When Doctor Warren came to her, she immediately asked, “Did you find anything yet?”

It had already been almost two weeks since Dipper was admitted and nothing was found yet. There was only one weekend until school would start, only for one twin this time.

“Actually, he did lead me to something,” Doctor Warren said. “I mentioned the journal to him that you spoke to me about and I believe he may have a type of psychosis with the paranormal creatures in it.”

“What do you mean?” Ariel asked.

“I believe he may be suffering from Schizophrenia, using the paranormal contents of the journal to fuel him. He visibly tensed when I mentioned the journal, and I believe he believes a demon was the cause of his suicide attempt,” Doctor Warren explained.

“Has he been sleeping?” Ariel asked, bringing the subject away from the suicide attempt.

“No,” Doctor Warren answered. “We’ve been giving him the medication you received to put him to sleep, but he usually refuses them.”

“He looks tired,” Ariel commented.

“We’ve been hoping he would take his medicine at some point, but he hasn’t relented yet,” said the psychiatrist. “If we treat him with anti-psychotics to fight the Schizophrenia, I believe it would help his fear of sleeping,” Doctor Warren said.

“A fear?” Ariel asked.

“He grows physically tense and fearful when we announce lights out,” Doctor Warren clarified.

“And what happens if he’s not schizophrenic?” Ariel asked. “What if there’s another problem?”

“Then we try again,” Doctor Warren answered.

“I hope you’re right about this. I’ll sign off on whatever you need to get him better.”

* * *

“Okay, Dipper, this is your new medicine,” Doctor Warren explained, holding a small pill in front of the boy.

Dipper had been visibly upset that entire day because it had been his first birthday spent away from Mabel. Sure, they had visited, but they couldn’t spend all day and night there. The psychiatrist was trying not to further upset the boy.

“I don’t need it,” Dipper protested, though as he said it, Bill was placing a top hat onto Doctor Warren’s head.

“Dipper,” the doctor began. “I know you don’t want to talk to me, but whatever you see and whatever scares you to go to sleep, this medication will stop it.”

Dipper knew it sounded too good to be true. Bill was too powerful.

“Bill isn’t more powerful than this,” Doctor Warren added.

 _Did I say that out loud?_ Dipper internally questioned when Doctor Warren spoke.

“This will help you, Dipper,” Doctor Warren said. “It’ll put an end to Bill.”

Without a second thought, Dipper took the medication into his mouth and swallowed it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UHWXUQ WR WKH IDOOV.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I decided to update, because it's been way too long. Sorry, guys, college takes up a lot of your time. But, here it is! Pretty short, but I'm still working on the newer chapters, so this wasn't even due to be posted just yet.

“We’re here, Dipper, we’re here!” Mabel chanted on the bus as it drove up to the Mystery Shack.

It had been three long years with the twins being on the brink of sixteen now. After Mabel’s constant begging, their parents had finally allowed the wins to return to Gravity Falls. Well, it was Dipper they didn’t want to let go of. He had just gotten a new dosage of medication and they wanted him closer to his doctor, but Stan had insisted he would take care of Dipper when they spoke on the phone.

“Don’t jump out of the bus before it’s had an opportunity to stop, Mabel,” Dipper said. He was a bit nervous about seeing everyone again and hoped no one would ask him what had happened the last time he was there. The scar on his arm from years ago would be safely hidden in his sweater.

“Let’s go!” Mabel exclaimed when the bus finally stopped. Over the years, Mabel had given up the sweaters for goofy looking shortalls and jelly bracelets. She also loved to wear mismatched striped stockings. Dipper knew she looked ridiculous, but Mabel was just that kind of person.

By the time Dipper got off the bus, Mabel had already attacked Stan with a hug on the front lawn. Stan was always more affectionate physically with Mabel.

“Hey there, slick,” Stan said when Mabel finally let go of him and he caught a look at Dipper. “You went and grew up, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” Dipper. He still felt badly for being such a jerk the last few days he had been in Gravity Falls before and felt uncomfortable around Stan after acting that way. “Look, Grunkle Stan, I’m….”

“You don’t have to say it, kid,” Stan interrupted. “I know.” Dipper looked down to his feet after the pause. “Come on in, the gang’s waiting.” Stan grabbed Mabel’s bag and led the two inside the gift shop of the shack.

“Soos, Wendy, you remember the kids,” Stan said when they entered the gift shop. Dipper could see that Wendy was standing at the register and Soos was in the middle of fixing up the old vending machine. The two definitely looked older than the last time Dipper had seen them.

“Hey, dudes,” Soos greeted. “You two sure aren’t little dudes anymore.”

“We’re almost sixteen!” Mabel exclaimed. “At the end of the summer, we’re going to have a huge party! The one we should have had.” Dipper knew Mabel had been planning on them having an amazing thirteenth birthday party at the shack. He knew he ruined it.

“That’s awesome,” Soos responded. “I can help you with the decorations.”

“Guys, it’s only June,” Dipper interjected. “We’ve still got a long way to go before even thinking about birthday parties.”

“Dipper’s right,” Wendy added. “Right now, you guys have all summer to plan your party.”

“Okay, enough chatter,” Stan said suddenly. “You two go up to the attic and put your stuff away. Then you work.”

 _Same old Grunke Stan,_ Dipper thought as the twins made their way to the attic, where they would be sharing a room like the last time they had been to Gravity Falls.

The two hadn’t shared a room together since Dipper had gone to the hospital. While he was there, Mabel’s things had been moved into the office of the house. Dipper had been unpleasantly surprised when he returned, but knew him and Mabel were getting older and needed their space. It was the reason sharing the attic with her now sounded so foreign.

“What do you think about being back, Dipstick?” Mabel asked as she set up her things on her side of the room. Her grappling hook, which had been left at the shack when the Pines family hastily left, was sitting on her bed. She gave a small smile.

“It’s weird,” Dipper answered as he set up his medication bottles on the nightstand. He had to take several medications to keep Bill at bay. He pulled the old hat he used to wear out of his bag and gave a sentimental smile. He put it on.

“Are you feeling bad now that we’re here?” Mabel asked. She had been worried when Dipper said he wanted to tag along to Gravity Falls, but she fought for him to come with. She was always on his side.

“I’m fine,” Dipper responded. “I’m just trying to get used to being here again. It’s a little weird is all.”

“Well, you can talk to me if you need to,” Mabel said. “You know that, right?”

“Right,” Dipper said with a nod.

“Let’s get downstairs and get to work!” Mabel then exclaimed, and Dipper didn’t understand how someone could be so excited to work. She gripped Dipper’s hand and dragged him downstairs to the gift shop.

“You guys haven’t been here in forever,” Wendy commented when the twins entered the gift shop. “And you both tucked out of town pretty fast,” she commented.

“Well, we needed to be home,” Mabel said quickly. “Family emergency.” Dipper didn’t need to be reminded that he was the emergency that had caused then to leave.

“Well, I’m glad you guys are back,” Wendy said. “Are you two going to do your mystery hunts again?”

“No,” Dipper snapped suddenly. He cleared his throat. He had been pretty harsh. “Sorry, but we won’t be doing any mystery hunts.” He sounded much calmer that time.

“Oh,” Wendy responded. “Guess that stuff can’t last forever.” Mabel placed a hand on Dipper’s shoulder, but he shook her off.

“I’ll be in the attic,” Dipper said.

“Hey, you’re working today!” Stan called, but Dipper was already out of sight. The man sighed. “How’s he doing, Mabel?”

“I’m starting to think it was a bad idea to ask mom and dad for him to come.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MRXUQDO QXPEHU WKUHH KDV WKH DQVZHUV.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, we found out that Dipper's name is in relation to Mabel's! Guess that kind of gets rid of what I used, but I probably won't even mention what I used for Dipper's name again.
> 
> Also, I'm SO sorry that I haven't posted recently. This term is so much harder than last term, and while I'm on spring break from the 6th to the 12th, I'm moving, so I'll be packing all my stuff and moving that week.

Dipper sat in the attic on his bed staring down at the journal on his nightstand. He was sure Stan would have locked that thing up after what had happened last time. How did it get there? Dipper could remember a time when all that mattered was getting that journal back to stop Bill.

After all this time of being told that Bill was fake, Dipper had begun to believe it. If Bill was real, how could all the medication Dipper was taking work against him?

 _No,_ Dipper thought. _Bill is fake._

 _Guess again, Pine Tree,_ a familiar voice spoke in Dipper’s head.

“Dipper?” Mabel asked as she walked into the attic. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Dipper answered hastily. “It just got a little too weird for me down there. I needed a minute.”

“Okay, just remember that you can talk to me,” Mabel reminded.

“Mabel, I got it,” Dipper said. “You don’t have to remind me.”

“I’m just looking out for you, bro bro,” Mabel said.

“I know,” Dipper responded with a sigh.

Mabel sat beside him.

“Hey…You okay?”

“Can you take this?” Dipper asked, handing Mabel the journal from the nightstand. “I just…can’t…right now.”

Mabel nodded and Dipper gave away the item he had been so desperate to get back those few years ago. Mabel left the room with the journal, but Dipper felt something strange.

What if the journal still held the answers and he had given it away? What if he was now doomed to live his life as a schizophrenic because he gave away that journal?

“You can’t think like that,” Dipper said to himself. “You’re supposed to just take your meds and talk to Mabel. Don’t just let this summer be ruined. If not for you, do it for Mabel.” Giving himself a second to breathe, Dipper made his way back downstairs to the gift shop.

“Look, Dipper, I’m sorry if I said something that upset you,” Wendy apologized upon spotting her younger friend.

“No, it’s fine,” Dipper said. “I’m…I’m trying to learn how to be more honest. Not just with everyone else, but with myself.”

“Even with Mabel?” Wendy asked. She imagined the twins would be as close as ever.

Dipper glanced at his gazing sister.

“Even Mabel,” Dipper answered.

“Dipper, I can help you,” Wendy said.

“No thanks,” Dipper responded. “I’m here to spend the summer with Mabel. I’ll try my best not to ruin her time, but there won’t be any mystery hunts or paranormal investigations.”

“Dipper…” Mabel trailed off as she watched on. She didn’t want the whole summer to be Dipper trying to let her have a good time. “You can-”

“I know,” Dipper interrupted. “Please don’t tell me again that I can talk to you; I _know_ I can talk to you. If you want me to talk to you, just leave me alone and let me come to you on my own.”

Mabel frowned and looked away from her brother.

“That’s harsh, Dipper,” Soos commented. Dipper only grabbed a broom and began to sweep the shop as he had been instructed to do before by Stan.

* * *

“Goodnight, Dipper…” Mabel trailed off as she threw herself on her bed. It still smelled the same as it did three years ago. Mabel curled up. She and Dipper hadn’t reconciled after what was said in the gift shop earlier.

“Night, Mabel,” Dipper said. He stared at his medication. He still had sleeping pills, but he didn’t use them as much as before. No one bothered him about it if he looked like he was getting some sleep.

With a sigh, Dipper took a pill and fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GRQW VOHHS. VOHHS DQG BRX'UH GHDG.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

_“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Bill asked as he swirled his cane around. “It’s been far too long, Pine Tree. Why don’t we make up for lost time?”_

_“W-What?” Dipper’s eyes widened and he looked around. This must be a dream, but… “How…how are you here?!”_

_“Well, once upon a time, a dream demon took pity on the twelve year old.” Bill began. Dipper could tell that if Bill had a mouth, he’d be grinning. “You’re like a toy! I had to build you up enough to bring you back down. Now you can finally understand that you’ll never be rid of me. That medication you’re taking is doing nothing but destroying your liver.”_

_“No…Everyone said you weren’t real. You’re not real!” Dipper exclaimed._

_“Oh, but I am,” Bill said with a laugh. “You’ll never be free.”_

Dipper jumped out of bed covered in cold sweat. He was finally free of Bill and now he was back. He was real. Dipper needed that journal.

“Mabel!” Dipper exclaimed, running downstairs to the kitchen where Mabel was eating ‘stancakes’ at the table beside Stan. “Mabel, where did you put the journal?”

“What?” Mabel asked, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Just the day before her brother was saying that he couldn’t handle it, and now he was desperate for it?

“No, no, no,” Stan said, standing from his seat. “There’s not going to be any journaling or adventuring when you’re under my care. Not after what happened last time.”

“No, you don’t understand!” Dipper said desperately. “I need it so that I can sleep safely!”

“You _can_ sleep safely,” Stan told Dipper. “You don’t need some stupid journal to go to sleep. Just do it, okay?”

Dipper realized that he wasn’t going to get the journal with Stan around. He would have to find it on his own.

“…Fine…” Dipper trailed off.

“Now sit down and eat some breakfast,” Stan said as he placed a plate of ‘stancakes’ on the table at the empty seat. He also put down Dipper’s favorite syrup beside the plate. Dipper and Mabel never ate the same type of syrup, Dipper preferring no added sugars with Mabel preferring the opposite.

Dipper frowned, sitting in front of the plate and beginning to eat. He watched as Stan left the room and made it his personal mission to find that journal.

* * *

“Dipper…” Mabel trailed off when the twins were alone in their room. Dipper had been spending a lot of time in there recently, and Mabel just wanted to be there for her brother. “You’re not having…problems, are you?”

Of course he was, but Mabel didn’t need to know that.

“Not at all,” Dipper said. “I just wanted to find that journal. You know, for…maybe I’ll do some paranormal stuff over the summer.”

“But what about what you said about sleeping this morning?” Mabel asked. “Maybe it’s not such a good idea to have the journal around.”

“Mabel, I really need it,” Dipper said. “Now, where did you put it?”

Mabel hesitated before digging underneath her mattress and bringing the book out.

“I didn’t want it to be too far away in case you wanted it back, but…I’m worried about you, Dipper,” Mabel said.

“You don’t need to be,” Dipper responded as he took the journal from his sister’s hands. He skimmed through the pages, trying to find a way to get Dipper out of his head.

“Dipper…” Mabel trailed off.

“I’m fine, Mabel,” Dipper said firmly. “You can go now.”

Mabel sighed and left the attic.

“I’m gonna get you out of my head, Bill,” Dipper said to himself.

_I’d like to see you try,_ a voice in his head said. Bill’s voice.

* * *

“Dipper?” Mabel asked as she peeked into the attic. She saw her brother, hunched over the journal that he had been staring at since she left. “Dipper, I don’t think this journal is such a good idea.”

“Don’t worry about it, Mabel,” Dipper said. “Besides, I’m almost done for the night. Go to sleep and I’ll knock out soon.”

“Okay…” Mabel trailed off. She got into bed and tried to ignore her brother, though it was hard. After years of making sure he was doing all right after his diagnosis, it was hard for her to pretend he was completely normal again.

Dipper hadn’t been normal since the last time they had been in Gravity Falls.

Dipper stayed awake much longer than he had intended to. He had ended up staying awake until midnight, when Mabel was definitely fast asleep, and so was everyone else in the house.

After not finding a way to stop Bill just yet, Dipper decided to go to sleep.

* * *

_“I thought you would have remembered better,” Bill said. “You know, since I tortured you last time you were here.”_

_“I guess I’m just not sure I believe you’re real yet,” Dipper responded._

_“Oh yeah?” Bill asked in an amused tone. “So that’s why you hunted down the journal again? Because you’re not sure if I’m real?”_

_“Oh, shut up,” Dipper spat. “Maybe I just feel like doing some paranormal investigations because I’m in Gravity Falls again.”_

_“Or maybe you want to get me out of your head,” Bill said. “I know how to get rid of me.”_

_“Of course_ you _know how to get rid of yourself,” Dipper said with a roll of the eyes. After a moment, he asked, “So how do you do it?”_

_“Oh no, this isn’t information I give easily,” Bill answered. He held out his hand, which held a blue flame. “Unless you want to make a deal for it.”_

_“I’m not making a deal with you!” Dipper exclaimed._

_“Very well then,” Bill said. Everything went black._

_“Hello?” Dipper asked to the darkness. “Bill, come on, this isn’t funny.”_

_“It’s not funny,” a familiar voice said from behind him. Dipper spun around to see Mabel giving him a blank stare. “You’re right; it’s not funny at all.”_

_“Oh, come on,” Dipper groaned out. “Bill, this thing with my sister is getting pretty old.”_

_“Dipper…” Mabel trailed off. She bit her lip and looked genuinely upset; tears welling up in her eyes. “I told you I was worried. I told you that I didn’t want you to be near that journal.”_

_“You’re not real,” Dipper said. “You’re not real.”_

_“I’m_ real _, Dipper!” Mabel exclaimed. “Have you been taking your medicine?”_

_“Shut up; you’re not even Mabel,” Dipper responded._

_“Of course I’m Mabel,” Mabel said. “Please, Dipper, get rid of that journal before you start to hurt yourself again.”_

_“You mean before Bill uses your image to hurt me?” Dipper asked. “No thanks.”_

_“Dipper, please!” Mabel exclaimed. “Please, for once, just listen to me! If you don’t get rid of this journal, it’s going to kill you!”_

_“The only thing that’s going to kill me is Bill,” Dipper said. “And, no, Bill, I won’t make a deal with you.” Dipper knew that Bill was the one controlling this Mabel. He had to be able to hear everything he was saying._

_“You’ll see what happens if you don’t get rid of the journal, Dipper,” Mabel said. “You’ll see.”_

* * *

Dipper jumped up in bed. He had slept for too long, and knew it was because he had been up way too late. Mabel must have just assumed he took one of his sleeping pills, which helped Dipper’s case. She would definitely insist that he get rid of the journal if she knew how late he had stayed up the night before.

Looking at the clock on his nightstand, Dipper saw that it was noon.

“Oh, gosh,” Dipper said as he tumbled out of bed. He was quick to dress and run out toward the gift shop. Mabel was playing cards with Wendy at the register while Soos was fixing up the vending machine – the light had broken inside.

“Morning, Dipper,” Wendy greeted when she saw the teenage boy.

“Dipper!” Mabel looked in the direction of her twin. “You looked like you were having trouble sleeping last night.” She must have seen him tossing and turning when he was confronting Bill in his nightmare.

“I’m fine,” Dipper said. “Just some stuff. I just came down to see if Stan was around.”

“He said something about seeing someone in town,” Soos answered.

“In town?” Dipper asked. “He hates everyone in this town.”

“He goes out and does advertising every once in a while,” Wendy said. “I think he has something set up with Lazy Sue. She lets him put some signs in front of the diner or something.”

“That’s great,” Dipper said before darting out of the room.

“What’s great?” Wendy asked.

“He has the journal,” Mabel said, worry in her voice.

“Oh no…” Soos trailed off. He remembered what happened last time, and when he had asked Stan what was going on after the twins left, all Stan had told him was that Dipper was in the hospital and that he had caused those bruises himself. He assumed that was all Stan knew.

Dipper got to work on the journal.

He was going to stop Bill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WKH IRUHVW LVQ'W VDIH.


	14. Chapter 14

Dipper didn’t remember falling asleep at the journal he had been reading. He didn’t remember dreaming and he most certainly didn’t understand why he was waking up in the forest.

It had to be a dream.

He had to be dreaming.

Dipper had woken up standing, but he didn’t remember opening his eyes. He just remembered beginning to see in the forest.

Mabel was standing in front of him. Stan was standing behind her, but he was close by.

“Dipper?” Mabel asked. “Are you all right, Dipper? What are you doing in the forest?” Dipper hated the forest.

“No…” Dipper breathed out. It was almost the exact scenery of the recurring nightmare Bill would give him. The nightmare where Mabel would strangle Dipper to death. He hadn’t had it in a long time since taking his medication, but he _did_ remember it. It was a little difficult to forget your twin nearly killing you. “No, no, no…”

“What’s wrong?” Mabel asked, the worry evident in her tone of voice. Even Stan was watching Dipper carefully now.

“No!” Dipper exclaimed, turning back and running through the woods. He ran as fast as he could, and he could hear Mabel and Stan running behind him. Dipper knew he was the slowest in the group, so did his best to run in zig zags to prevent being caught. “Leave me alone!”

“We just want to talk, kid!” Stan exclaimed. “We’re not gonna hurt you!”

“You will!” Dipper shouted back. “But I won’t let you!” He continued to run until his foot got caught on a root and he ended up on the ground. Mabel and Stan were quick to catch up to him. “Leave me alone!”

“Dipper, please, we’re not trying to hurt you!” Mabel called out.

“Go _away_!” Dipper shouted, louder than he had before. Mabel backed away from him, looking away from her brother.

“Mabel, go back to the Shack and tell Soos and Wendy that we found him,” Stan instructed. “We’ll be back soon.”

“Okay,” Mabel said quietly, turning and walking back to the Shack as instructed.

“What is this all about?” Stan asked when Mabel was gone. “You disappear out of the blue and when we finally find you, you bolt? And you thought we were gonna hurt you?”

“This is real?” Dipper asked with wide eyes. He hadn’t meant to snap at Mabel like he did. He meant to snap at Bill. He meant to manage escaping torment.

“Of course this is real,” said Stan. “Have you been taking the medicine your parents gave you? They said it was supposed to help with…this.”

Dipper didn’t answer. Stan sighed before moving to dislodge Dipper’s foot from the root on the ground. Dipper moved to stand, hissing when he put pressure on his right foot.

“It might be sprained,” Stan commented. He lifted Dipper off the ground and began walking out of the forest. Dipper let out a groan when he was lifted. He was fifteen now, and being lifted by his uncle was more embarrassing than it was when he was twelve. “Stop your groaning; you can’t walk on that ankle.”

When they reached the Mystery Shack, Stan placed Dipper on a bench in the gift shop.

“Stay right there; I’m gonna get something to clean you up,” Stan said. Dipper hadn’t noticed, but he had gotten a bit scuffed up when he was running through the forest, especially when he fell to the ground.

Stan returned with rubbing alcohol to clean up the scratches on Dipper’s knees from his fall, as well as some ice for his ankle. Wendy, Soos, and Mabel pretended not to be watching as Stan continued to clean the teenager.

“Dipper…” Stan trailed off suddenly. Dipper looked to where his uncle was gazing. He didn’t escape Bill after all – Stan had rolled up his sweatshirt sleeve and there were three horizontal cuts on his left wrist. They looked like they had been made before he went into the woods – or maybe whenever he ended up in the woods it had happened. Dipper was still unsure how all of this happened.

Mabel caught on to what had happened.

“Dipper,” she said as she ran over to try and help. “I thought…I thought you weren’t doing this anymore.”

“I’m not,” Dipper defended. “I didn’t…” Dipper didn’t know how to tell Mabel that he had never done this to himself in the first place and her not believe he was still crazy and that his medication dosage needed to be changed again.

Stan bandaged Dipper’s wrist and finished cleaning the teen up before stepping away from him.

“Dipper…under the circumstances, I’m going to need you to not wear sweatshirts for the remainder of your visit,” Stan said. He didn’t want to do this, but he had to make sure that Dipper didn’t continue to hurt himself. “You don’t have to stay in the gift shop, but you can’t hide out in the attic all day either. You can stay in the TV room.” While he couldn’t let Dipper do this to himself anymore, he wasn’t going to subject the boy to being embarrassed about the scars from the last time he had ended up with wounds like these.

“I’ll go change…” Dipper trailed off. He didn’t want to fight with Stan. Not after fighting with him last time, and he still felt badly about his outburst with Mabel in front of Stan. He would definitely need to apologize for that later. Dipper stood from the bench and winced again when he put pressure on his right foot.

“You can’t stand on that,” Stan said. “Soos, why don’t you help Dipper to his room?” Stan could tell that Dipper wasn’t ready to have anything else to do with him, so he enlisted the help of his handyman, who Dipper was attached to. It would help even out the tension with everyone in the Shack instead of having it all directed toward one person.

“Sure thing, Mr. Pines,” Soos said. He didn’t lift Dipper like Stan had done, but he did let the kid use him as a crutch. It was a bit difficult because Soos was so much taller than Dipper, but he didn’t want to embarrass Dipper in front of Wendy, who was still pretending like she hadn’t heard anything at the cash register.

When Soos helped Dipper reach his room, he waited for Dipper to change his shirt so that he could help him to the TV room. He had turned around to give the teenager a bit of privacy, but turning back around prematurely had caused him to see the bruises littered over Dipper’s chest. Bill had not been so kind to him recently.

“Dipper…” Soos trailed off.

Dipper pulled his shirt over his head asking, “What?”

“Nothing…” He would speak with Stan later.

* * *

Dipper spent the rest of his afternoon in front of the TV. With a sprained ankle, he couldn’t really go anywhere without help. Soos said he would bring a pair of his old crutches from when he was a kid tomorrow, but that meant Dipper was spending the day in front of mindless television, when he could be messing with the journal.

Now that he thought about it, he didn’t remember what happened after the journal. He didn’t remember going to sleep, so he didn’t know what even happened to the journal. He hadn’t even seen it when he went upstairs to change in his room.

So, not only did he _not_ know where the journal was and was stuck in front of the TV, but Mabel kept popping in to check on him like he was a crazy person – and she probably thought he was.

When Mabel came and checked on him, she wasn’t coming in and asking how he was. She was coming in, walking past him, but keeping her eyes on him as she walked by, before she went back to the gift shop. It was the same way she used to check on him when he first got out of the hospital, and it was the way their mother checked on him too.

“How’s it hanging, slick?” Stan asked when he walked in to check on Dipper at the end of the day. Stan actually talked to Dipper during his checks.

“The TV gets old after a while,” Dipper said. With not being able to go to his room, reading the journal was out of the question, even if he _could_ find it. Stan would never allow him to read the journal again, and Dipper would be lucky if Mabel would let him read it.

“Listen, Dipper…” Stan trailed off. “We gotta talk.”

“About what?” Dipper asked. What else could there _be_ to talk about after the day they had?

“Soos came to me after he brought you in here,” Stan began. “He said something about you having…well, he said you were covered in bruises.”

“Bruises?” Dipper asked. “He must’ve seen wrong. I don’t have any bruises,” the teen fibbed.

“Dipper, please take off your shirt,” Stan instructed. He even said _please._ He hated that word.

“No,” Dipper said quickly.

“No?” Stan asked. “Kid, look, you don’t have a choice here. Take off your shirt. I’m giving you the chance to do it in privately instead of doing it like last time.” Dipper remembered last time. It had been humiliating to have his shirt taken off and be exposed and bruised in front of Soos. Thankfully Wendy hadn’t seen it.

“Fine, just hold on,” Dipper said. He adjusted in the chair so he wouldn’t have to stand, hesitantly lifting up his shirt. He didn’t need to take it off to show the extent of the damage.

“You can put it back down,” Stan said after the initial shock wore off. How could this kid hurt himself the way he did? Stan didn’t understand it, but he would do his best to watch over and help Dipper through it.

Dipper slid his shirt down and avoided Stan’s gaze. He couldn’t admit to something he didn’t do, but if he started spouting out about Bill torturing him in his dreams, they would all think he was crazy again!

“You know I’ll have to tell your parents about this,” Stan said after a pregnant pause.

“Please don’t,” Dipper pleaded. “If they know about this, they’ll make me come back home.” _I won’t be able to finish my research,_ Dipper added silently.

“I have no choice but to tell them,” Stan responded. “But I’ll try and fight for you to stay.”

“They’ll think I need my meds fixed,” Dipper said. “They’ll think I need to go back to my psychiatrist.”

“Well, maybe a local psychiatrist will do the trick,” Stan mentioned. “If your psychiatrist can fax your file to one closer, I’ll take you there. We’ll have to leave this hick town to get to a decent psychiatrist, but it’ll be worth it for you to stay.”

“If you can convince them of that, I guess I wouldn’t have a problem,” Dipper said, but he did have a problem. He had a very big problem with Stan taking him back to a psychiatrist.

“I’ll help you to your room so you can go to bed,” Stan said. He lifted Dipper from the couch and carried him to his bedroom where he placed the boy on his bed.

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to be in here by myself?” Dipper asked.

“Mabel’s on her way in,” Stan answered. He stayed until Mabel entered the room, ready for bed, before giving each twin a pat on the head and leaving.

The room was silent as Mabel got settled in bed. Dipper felt like he needed to say something. He needed to apologize to his sister for what had happened in the forest.

“Mabel…” Dipper trailed off.

“You don’t need to say anything,” Mabel said suddenly. “I know what you mean.”

“I was having a hard time, I think…” Dipper trailed off. He didn’t know how to apologize to Mabel without telling her everything, and he wasn’t ready for that. He wasn’t sure he could admit to Bill haunting his dreams for all these years – even if most of the time, Bill hadn’t been there, due to his medication.

“I told you I didn’t think you reading the journal was a good idea,” Mabel said. “Can you not look at it anymore?”

“I don’t even remember where I put it,” Dipper said. He hadn’t seen it both times he had been brought to his room, and he didn’t see it now.

“Good,” Mabel said. She turned over in bed so she couldn’t face him. “Don’t look for it.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GRQ'W VOHHS. FDQ'W VOHHS.
> 
> In other news, my cousin has a baby and my dad was thinking about how he is a great uncle and he just realized that he’s a grunkle. He’s blown away.


	15. Chapter 15

Dipper didn’t sleep that night. He was too scared of Bill hurting him and ending up with more injuries to explain to his family.

When Mabel woke, she looked at her brother with a frown. Obviously she could tell that he hadn’t slept through the night. He had bags on his eyes, and knew this for sure, though said nothing to his sister about not sleeping.

She ended up saying nothing to him either. She only stood, grabbed an outfit out of her suitcase, before leaving the room. When they were twelve and shared the attic last time, they had no problem dressing in front of each other, but now they were older, and Mabel dressed in the bathroom while leaving Dipper to dress in the attic.

But Dipper didn’t get dressed.

He was too stressed from the incident in the forest, and rummaging around through his memories to try and find out just how he had ended up in the forest was giving him a headache. He wished he could ask someone to tell him how he ended up there, but if he did, they would just think he was crazy. Mabel would be even more worried and Stan would send him home, doomed to spend the rest of the summer with his parents and away from his twin sister.

After being in the hospital for so long – almost a year – Dipper had grown accustomed to being away from Mabel like he had never been before. It was strange to think of how comfortable he was being away from his twin, his other half, but he was comfortable with it.

Mabel returned to their bedroom after she finished dressing. She had changed into shorts, colorful leggings, and an off-the-shoulder sweater with a tank-top underneath. She frowned when she saw her brother still sitting where he was when she left him.

It worried her to see Dipper in such a state. It was easier than it used to be, with Mabel having time to get used to her brother this way, but she just didn’t understand what went wrong. One day he was happy in Gravity Falls and they were going on different adventures every day. The next day, he was sleep deprived and hurting himself.

Mabel knew it had something to do with the journal. It couldn’t _not_ be about it, especially since Dipper had become agitated and began acting strange once the journal was in his possession again. That was why when she ran up to their room to find Dipper and found only the journal on the floor, she took it into her own possession, hiding it so her brother couldn’t find it.

Mabel wasn’t going to let her brother go down that path again.

She was going to protect him.

* * *

When Dipper finally got out of bed, he began to look for the journal. He couldn’t just waste time staring at a wall and exhausting himself doing nothing when he could be exhausting himself equally while looking for his journal.

He looked in all of his hiding places in the attic – the best he could on his sprained ankle – hoping he would have hidden it _somewhere_ when he had left for the forest.

There was nothing.

His hiding places were empty – save for a few pieces of candy from Summerween three years ago. He had lost the journal, and he couldn’t enlist for anyone else’s help to find it.

Maybe Mabel would understand if he told her he needed it.

He would give it a try.

Dipper hobbled out of the attic – painfully – and to the gift shop where Mabel was trying to sell bumper stickers to a customer. When she was finished with the customer, Dipper hobbled up to her to get her attention.

“Hey, Mabel,” Dipper greeted. His tone might have been too syrupy since Mabel squinted her eyes at him. Or maybe she was still upset about what happened in the forest and wasn’t showing it.

“Dipper, you’re not supposed to be walking on your foot,” Wendy said from behind the register. While Mabel had been trying to sell bumper stickers by the register, Stan didn’t allow her to be up there by herself anymore since she tried to give everything away for free.

“I’ll be fine; it’s just a sprain,” Dipper said. “So, Mabel…”

“What do you want Dipper?” Mabel asked with an agitated sigh. Dipper frowned. His sister was still upset about before; she just wasn’t admitting to it.

“I was wondering if you knew where I could find my journal,” Dipper said. He bit his lip waiting for an answer.

“I’m not helping you find it, Dipper,” Mabel said.

“Why not?” Dipper asked. He could think of quite a few reasons why she wouldn’t want to help him find the journal, or even tell him where he could look for it.

“Because you’re doing all this stuff again!” Mabel exclaimed. The other customers in the store watched on, as did Wendy. Mabel didn’t shout like this usually. Well, not in the gift shop since the last time they had seen her. “You’re hurting yourself again and you stopped sleeping!”

“Mabel, I…” Dipper trailed off. What would he tell her? “I’m sorry.”

“You’re better without the journal,” Mabel said, seeming calmer than before. “I just want you to be happy again.”

“If you want me to be happy again, I _need_ the journal,” Dipper said.

“Why do you need it?” Mabel asked.

“So I can…” Dipper trailed off. He would need to leave the majority of details out. He sighed, knowing Mabel would hate his answer. “So I can sleep safely.”

“ _This_ is what I’m _talking_ about!” Mabel exclaimed once again. “You’re acting like this again because of that stupid journal! I’m starting to think that letting you have the thing was a mistake.” She would never say Dipper coming was a mistake. She had wanted him to come, she just wasn’t sure it was good for him to be there anymore. Not a mistake, though. Letting him _have_ the journal was the mistake.

“No, Mabel, you’ve got to trust me,” Dipper pleaded. “Tell me where I can find the journal and I’ll be able to be normal again. I’ll be how I was before I got this whole thing started.

“No, Dipper,” Mabel said sternly. “I’m _not_ helping you find the journal.”

Dipper frowned. He should have known she would refuse to help him with her feeling so strongly about the journal. He hobbled away from her, returning to the attic.

_“Wanna make a deal now, Pine Tree?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EULQJLQJ D EURWKHU EDFN WR WKH VKDFN


	16. Chapter 16

“Look, Ariel, I don’t think he’s gonna do it again, and I’m keeping a stricter eye on him so that it won’t happen again,” Stan said after he had explained to Ariel Pines what Dipper had done to himself.

 _“I don’t know if being in Gravity Falls is such a good idea for him,”_ Ariel spoke through the phone. _“He just got back from the hospital again, and the dosage on his medication was finally regular. If he’s having issues, his medication needs to be checked.”_

“I could take him somewhere near here,” Stan suggested. “Then he won’t have to leave, but he’ll get his medicine fixed up.”

 _“I don’t know…”_ Ariel trailed off. _“He was making progress here, and I don’t want a different psychiatrist to mess up his medicine.”_

“I’ll find someone and you can have your guy send over records,” Stan said. “Please, Ariel; Dipper was so scared of having to go back home. I promised him I’d try to convince you otherwise.”

 _“I just don’t know, Stan,”_ Ariel said. _“I’ll talk to Doctor Warren and see what he says. He might think it’s a bad idea to switch Dipper over to a different psychiatrist that he doesn’t trust, but if he says it’s all right, I guess it’s fine with me.”_ Ariel didn’t really want her son to be somewhere else when he was having issues like this, but if Stan was telling the truth, and Dipper desperately wanted to stay in Gravity Falls, she would try her best. _“I’ll call you in a few days after I speak with Doctor Warren.”_

“Thank you, Ariel,” Stan said before the two shared their goodbyes and ended their conversation. Stan wouldn’t break the news to Dipper just yet; he didn’t want to tell the kid he was going to stay in Gravity falls until it was absolutely certain that he would.

Stan left his office, going to the kitchen where he was planning to make breakfast for the twins. He hadn’t expected his kitchen to be a wreck and two kids making breakfast inside of it.

Well, Dipper was sitting on the counter with his ankle wrapped in a bandage that Soos had found for him, with crutches leaning against the counter beside him. Stan noticed the kid was still forgoing his sweatshirts and wearing t-shirts. The scars that kid had…Stan purposefully avoided looking at them.  

Mabel was standing in front of the stove, making pancakes with…glitter on them? Stan hoped those were sprinkles.

The two suddenly turned to their uncle with big smiles on their faces. Dipper looked tired, though. Stan hoped he was sleeping through the night.

“Happy Grunkles day!” the two exclaimed loudly when they noticed their uncle in the room.

“What?” Stan asked.

“It’s Uncles day in Canada,” Dipper mentioned; his tone was laced with fatigue.

 _He hasn’t been sleeping,_ Stan commented internally.

“In Canada?” Stan asked. The twins nodded. “You know we’re in America, right?” At least the last time he checked they were in America.

“Of _course_ we know we’re in America,” Mabel said, rolling her eyes playfully. “But I thought that you might want a nice breakfast from your favorite niece and nephew.”

“You two are my _only_ niece and nephew,” Stan said. “Nothing makes you my favorite; you’re just the only two I got.”

“Well, you’ve gotta appreciate that we tried,” Dipper said. “And those aren’t sprinkles.”

“GLITTER ATTACK!” Mabel exclaimed as she threw more glitter into the pancakes.

* * *

After the horribly glitter-tasting pancakes – that Stan totally ate because he wanted to see his niece smile – the man stocked the gift shop while Dipper sat on the counter by the cash register and Mabel worked with the register. Stan had banned her from it, but the brunette girl always seemed to work her way back to it.

Last Stan checked, though, the twins weren’t getting along, and it was slightly suspicious that they were getting along so well now.

“Weren’t you two fighting yesterday?” Stan asked the twins. While they hadn’t been physically fighting, and hadn’t said anything about it, he could tell when siblings were fighting. He was all too experienced in that department. Each twin turned to look at him.

 “We’re working on it,” Mabel said. It was clear in her voice that she didn’t want to talk about it, and even Dipper wouldn’t meet his eyes. Stan felt he was doing his job if Dipper wasn’t leaving and punching himself all over the place.

The day went on somewhat normal for once. Stan still found it strange that Dipper never spout out anything about adventuring or paranormal investigations. The last time the kid had been there, the whole summer was full of nothing but whatever was in that journal.

The journal…

Stan needed to find it.

“Hey, Mabel?” Stan asked. “Can I talk to you alone for a minute, sweetie?”

“Sure thing, Grunkle Stan,” Mabel said, stepping away from the register. Stan waved over to Soos to keep an eye on Dipper as he took Mabel into the kitchen. “What’s up?”

“I wanted to know if you knew how to get the journal away from Dipper,” Stan said. “I want to keep an eye on it so he doesn’t get worse than he is now.”

Stan thought it was going to be difficult to get something like this out of Mabel. He thought she would have wanted to protect him from their uncle, including his possessions. That’s why Stan hadn’t expected Mabel to say, “It’s under my pillow,” so quickly.

“What?” Stan asked.

“It’s underneath my pillow,” Mabel repeated. “I was scared he was going to get caught up in the journal and end up hurting himself again, so I hid it underneath my pillow. He has no idea where it is.”

“Can I have it?” Stan asked. He wasn’t sure if Mabel was still wanting to protect her brother by keeping it safe for him.

“Of course,” Mabel said, and that’s when Stan realized that the twins were in deeper trouble than he thought.

* * *

Closing time. The twins were safely in bed. Soos and Wendy were off for the day. Stan had the third journal.

He entered his secret code on the vending machine before entering the lab underneath the Mystery Shack.

He had waited far too long.

He was going to get his brother back.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Iloohu.
> 
> So, I finally updated. I know it was a long wait, but you can all thank Xyakori for PMing me and managing to pull me out of this hiatus. I was on hiatus because of being a full-time college student - even though I totally have until chapter twenty-one written - but I figured I owed you guys something. I wanted to wait until I finished another chapter to post it, but I figured it would be okay to do it now. It's been, like, four months now, so you guys deserve it.
> 
> I'm sorry for taking so long (and my cipher creator is under maintenance right now, so I had to use another one and I seriously hope it works). This was shorter than I'd like it to be, but at least it's something.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was way too short. 
> 
> So, I've told a few of you, but for the rest of you all, there will be a new chapter every Sunday from now on. Insomnia is scheduled for it's last chapter in early February.

Dipper could feel the gravitational pull in the shack. It had woken him from his slumber, and as he looked around, he could see that he and Mabel were floating! This was it! It meant that Mabel and Stan could no longer think of him as crazy as long as he woke them up!

“Mabel,” Dipper called. “Mabel!” Just before his sister opened her eyes, the two crashed back down onto their beds.

“What?” Mabel asked, jumping out of bed. Unfortunately for Dipper, the loss of gravity was gone. It had only been a moment and Dipper wondered if he really _was_ crazy. After all, he had been the only person to wake up from the wave of no gravity.

“Did you feel that?” Dipper asked. He would voice his concerns anyway.

“Feel what?” Mabel asked. “Did you take your sleeping stuff before bed?” She was honestly surprised that Dipper had gone to sleep, but figured he had taken one of his sleeping pills. If he had, though, he wouldn’t be up.

“That’s not the point,” Dipper argued. “Did you feel the anti-gravity just now? We were floating!”

“Go back to sleep, Dipper,” Mabel said, covering her eyes with her arm so she could get back to the dream she had been having about her newest crush.

Dipper sighed. There was no way Mabel would believe him unless gravity stopped again. He also wasn’t prepared to fall back to sleep and be at the mercy of Bill.

Dipper stayed awake, searching the shack for the journal once again.

* * *

“Wake up, kids!” Stan exclaimed as he entered the twins’ room. “We’re going out to the diner.”

“Why?” Dipper asked. He had already been awake, sitting in his bed. He grew tired of searching for the journal, so simply sat in bed and tried not to fall asleep. Mabel, on the other hand, was woken by their uncle and sat up in bed.

“You two treated me to breakfast yesterday, so I’m treating you today,” Stan said. He honestly didn’t want to risk having to eat glitter pancakes again.”

“They were delicious and you know it,” Mabel argued, though got out of bed and grabbed clothes anyway. She walked out of the room, leaving Stan and Dipper alone.

“So…” Stan trailed off. “You get any sleep last night?”

“Yeah,” Dipper said, and it was true. He had actually slept until gravity began to fail and he had been woken up. He was sure Stan wouldn’t believe him either. He would keep quiet about it for as long as he could around anyone with the authority to move him wherever they wanted.

He didn’t want to go home.

When Stan took Mabel and Dipper to the diner, they were peacefully eating for a while. Of course, everyone knew everyone in town, and the Pines family had been the object of conversation lately. Dipper was sure it had to do with their abrupt departure from Gravity Falls and then their new arrival.

“Oh my stars, if it isn’t Mabel Pines,” a familiar voice spoke. Dipper and Mabel turned their heads, and knew who it was from the blonde hair before they even saw Gideon’s face. He was older now, but only by a few years. He was twelve now, and still the same Gideon Gleeful. Dipper rolled his eyes and looked away.

“I thought you had left Gravity Falls for good,” Gideon added, and Dipper was trying desperately to tune him out.

“Just for the summer,” Mabel said. She was being nice.

 _Of course she’s gonna be nice to this kid,_ Dipper thought.

“A little birdie told me you left because your good-for-nothing brother had gone insane,” Gideon said. Dipper snapped his head toward him.

“I’m _right_ here,” Dipper said. He was ignored by Gideon, but Mabel placed a hand over Dipper’s to reassure him that nothing bad would happen.

“My brother’s not insane,” Mabel said, and it made Dipper feel better to know his sister didn’t think he was crazy.

“Well, I have to skedaddle,” Gideon said. “But give me a call; I got a phone now.” Gideon pulled out a business card – _Yep, same old Gideon,_ Dipper thought – and handed it to Mabel before leaving the diner.

“Thanks, Mabel,” Dipper thanked gratefully.

“For what?” Mabel asked.

“For saying I’m not insane,” Dipper said. “I was starting to think it myself for a while, but you still believe in me.”

“I’m just telling it like it is,” Mabel responded. She removed her hand from the top of Dipper’s and resumed eating her breakfast. Dipper smiled. Even if Mabel brushed it off, it still made him feel better to know that his twin still cared.

“So, Dipper…” Stan suddenly piped up. “I spoke with your parents.”

“I _knew_ this breakfast had to be because of something,” Dipper said. “Why else would you bring us here if you didn’t have to break bad news?”

“Look, it’s nothing bad,” Stan said. “I spoke with them and they agreed for you to stay here as long as you start seeing a psychiatrist close to here.”

“Fine,” Dipper said. It was still bad to him; he didn’t want to see a psychiatrist. He knew Bill was real again. He just knew it.

“I did what I could to get you to stay; that’s what you wanted, right?” Stan asked.

Of _course_ that was what he wanted, but he didn’t want to end up roped to a psychiatrist that could haul him off to a hospital any given moment. He _needed_ to search for a way to get rid of Bill.

“Yeah, Grunkle Stan,” Dipper said. “That’s what I wanted.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pdeho. Pdeho. Pdeho. Pdeho.


	18. Chapter 18

"Are you upset about the psychiatrist?" Mabel asked when she managed to get her brother alone in their bedroom. Dipper still had limited mobility with his hurt ankle ever since that day in the woods, and he still wasn't allowed to be anywhere by himself. Grunkle Stan was even insisting he not wear long sleeves, but when they were around others, he had been more lenient on the subject. Stan didn't want to embarrass the kid by showing his scars for others to see. He also didn't want Dipper making more scars.

"Of course I'm upset about the psychiatrist," Dipper answered honestly. "But I'll live. After all, Grunkle Stan only did what he had to do in order to get mom and dad to let me stay. Being here instead of at home beats anything I have to do." Because Dipper really needed to get that journal back, but he was still trying to find out what Mabel had done with it.

"I think the psychiatrist is a good idea," Mabel said.

"What?" Dipper asked. He felt like Mabel wasn't on his side on this, but he couldn't blame her. If he was in her place, he probably would feel the same way.

"I just mean...." Mabel trailed off. "Maybe it's a good idea. If you see someone about this, you can get the help you really need, and maybe you wouldn't feel like you should...hurt yourself...Maybe you'd start taking your sleep stuff again."

"I stopped taking it because I don't need it," Dipper said.

"And that's why you're up every night?" Mabel asked. "It's just like last time we were here, and I'm just worried that you'll start beating yourself up again."

"Mabel..." Dipper trailed off. He felt so guilty for making her worry when that was the opposite of what he wanted. He wanted Mabel to know just what was going on. Why. "Bill."

"What?" Mabel asked.

"Bill is the reason I can't sleep," Dipper said.

"You mean the magic dorito?" Mabel asked. "The triangle from the dollar bill with the funny top hat and cane?"

"Yeah," Dipper answered. "Remember when we defeated him when we were kids?"

"Yeah," Mabel said.

"We didn't really defeat him," Dipper said. "He...I don't know where he went, but he started taking over my dreams. He was...he was torturing me in my sleep. He liked to use you to hurt me in my dreams, and when I would wake up...the bruises would be there. Everything would hurt, just like it had in my dream," he explained.

"Wait..." Mabel trailed off. She gasped, pulling her hand to cover her mouth. "Are you telling me you're not really schizophrenic?"

"Yeah…I mean, I thought I was for a long time, but I’m not," Dipper said. "I think Bill was trying to get rid of me by tricking everyone into thinking I was schizophrenic. The only question is why, and how to stop him. But I need the journal to fix it."

"Oh, Dipper I'm so sorry," Mabel said. She pulled her brother close to her. "I thought you were sick for so long, and I didn't know how to handle it..."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Dipper said. He wrapped his arms around his sister. "I thought I was sick too. For a long time, I just thought Bill was something I made up when we were living here before."

"I should've been there for you," Mabel said.

"None of that matters now," Dipper responded. "All that matters now is getting back my journal and fixing everything. Do you know where it is?"

"I..." Mabel trailed off. "I gave it to Grunkle Stan."

"Why would you do that?" Dipper asked.

"I'm sorry, Dipper; I thought you were going to start hurting yourself if you had it," Mabel said.

"I don't know how to get it away from him without being caught," Dipper said.

"You can't get it from him without getting caught," Mabel said. "He'd think you were going to hurt yourself again if you got ahold of it, just like I did."

"Then how do you suggest we get it?" Dipper asked.

"I'll think of somethi-" Mabel was cut off by another loss of gravity. This time, though, everyone else was awake for it. "What the?"

"This happened last night!" Dipper exclaimed.

"What?" Mabel asked.

"You were sleeping, so you didn't notice, but this happened last night," Dipper said. "I tried to wake you up, but you just told me to go back to sleep."

"Sounds like me," Mabel muttered. The loss of gravity ended and the two fell back to the ground. "Glad that's over."

"I can't help but feel like this has something to do with Bill," Dipper said. "This whole thing started because of the weird stuff going on in Gravity Falls, right?"

"Right," Mabel answered.

"Then this weird thing might be the answer to all of this," Dipper said. "Now we just need to find out what's going on."

"If the town caused the weird gravity thing, what are we supposed to do about it?" Mabel asked. "It's not like we can ask the ground what's going on."

"You're right," Dipper said. "We need Grunkle Stan on our side first."

"But he's not on our side!" Mabel exclaimed. "He wants you to see a psychiatrist, remember? He's not going to believe you if you start talking about the town being weird again. He thinks that's how this whole schizophrenic thing started."

"Then I can't talk to him," Dipper said. "Mabel, this is up to you. Can you do this for me?"

Mabel hesitated. She wanted to help her brother, but she didn't know if she would be able to convince Stan of anything they were talking about.

"I can do this," Mabel said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plvohdglqj.


	19. Chapter 19

“Finally, after all these years, I made it,” Stan said as he stared onto the portal he had to rebuild and reactivate. He actually learned a thing or two about this sciency stuff in the process. His brother would be proud. Or so he thought. “Now just to give it a little more time.” Stan sighed in relief at the knowledge that his brother was coming back. He turned and headed out of the basement, making sure no one was in the gift shop before leaving through the secret entry-way in the vending machine. Stan was actually pretty proud of himself for managing to keep all of this a secret for so long. Especially with the kids watching him like a hawk this visit.

“Grunkle Stan?” Mabel asked, popping out of god knows where. Stan actually jumped when he heard her voice. It was so unlike her voice from the last time she was there. Stan had noticed how both the twins had matured since the last time he saw them.

“What is it?” Stan asked in a grumpy voice. He couldn’t let the kids know he was happy about the fact that his brother was coming back. They couldn’t know.

“I was wondering if I could have that journal back?” Mabel asked. Stan caught on to the puppy eyes. He knew she was trying to get it back to her brother. Dipper must have found out that she got rid of it.

“I’m not gonna give it to you if you’re just gonna run it to your brother,” Stan said. “You know he’s sick, Mabel. He doesn’t need the exposure to stuff like that.”

“You’re right,” Mabel fibbed. “I’d just feel safer about it if I knew exactly where it was. Trust me, he can’t get a thing out of me. I’ve got buns of steel.”

Stan squinted his eyes. “Well, if you say you won’t give it to your brother, you can have it.” Stan knew he would regret it, but he dug out the old book and handed it over to Mabel. “ _Don’t_ give it to your brother.”

“You got it, dude,” Mabel said as she rushed up to the attic. Of course she would give it to Dipper. Anything to stop Bill. Mabel reached the attic, shutting and locking the door behind her so that Stan wouldn’t interrupt them. “I got the journal, Dipstick, but I don’t know how we’re going to use it to stop Bill.”

“I can find something,” Dipper said. “Bill’s been plaguing my mind for years now. If there’s something in here to stop him, anything at all, I should be able to recognize it in my subconscious and it’ll tell us about Bill.”

“I hope you’re right about this,” Mabel responded.

“Me too.”

* * *

Dipper looked through the journal a hundred times over. There was nothing. Nothing stood out to him, even after all the time Bill had spent playing around in his head. Dipper was at a loss and figured he’d be stuck like this forever.

“Anything?” Mabel asked after two hours of nonstop looking.

“Nope,” Dipper responded.

“You need a break,” Mabel suggested. “You’ve been at this for hours. You’re even squinting while you’re reading.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve read so much in one sitting,” Dipper said. Everyone had been keeping an eye on him ever since he was diagnosed as a schizophrenic. There was no time to sit around and read for so long, and if he did, everyone thought something was wrong with him and that he needed another checkup.

“You should come downstairs and eat something,” Mabel suggested. Dipper’s ankle was healed enough for him to walk lately, and Mabel needed to get her brother out of the stuffy attic. “Maybe we can convince Grunkle Stan to take us out to eat?”

“Because that went so well last time,” Dipper muttered sarcastically under his breath in an irritated tone. “I don’t really want to see anyone in town right now. Gideon already popped up last time we were in town and called me insane.”

“What are the odds that we bump into him twice?” Mabel asked. “Besides, maybe he’s changed from being nuts to being nice? You never know.”

“Yeah, I mean, I went from being nice to nuts,” Dipper responded.

“Now that’s not what I meant,” Mabel said. “You’re not nuts. You told me yourself that it’s Bill’s fault, and I believe you. So I’m going to help fix you. Soos might help too.”

“I think he’s on Grunkle Stan’s side now,” Dipper said. “We need to take care of this on our own. Everyone else just thinks I’m crazy because a doctor decided to label me with a mental disease.”

“Well, there’s nothing the two of us can’t do as long as we’re together,” Mabel said. “Just tell me what to do and the Mystery Twins are back in action, bro bro.”

“You haven’t said a sentence that wild in a long time,” Dipper said. He even allowed himself to laugh at the oddly constructed sentence.

“Well, maybe I just needed to stop worrying about you so much and start listening,” Mabel responded. “Anyway, let’s get to work! After a lunch break.”

“Okay, okay, we’ll do something for lunch,” Dipper said.

“Yay!”

* * *

Thankfully, they didn’t run into anyone at the diner when they had asked Stan to take them. He had complained that he was busy with the shop, but Dipper managed to pull eyes on him to get what he wanted. Dipper noticed he had that effect on people ever since he had been diagnosed.

Dipper wasted no time getting back to the journal, but Mabel was still a bit worried. She was trying to help, but it just seemed like Dipper was falling back into old habits and obsessing about the journal.

Not doing anything with the journal wouldn’t fix their problems, but obsessing over it could make things a lot worse. Mabel wasn’t sure she wanted to play with those odds right now, but she figured she had no other choice. Mabel felt like she owed it to Dipper to help him after not listening to him for the past few years.

“I keep thinking this circle has something to do with it,” Dipper said, mostly to himself, in the room. It piqued Mabel’s interest.

“What circle?” Mabel asked as she peeked over Dipper’s shoulder.

The circle was an image of Bill Cipher in the middle with several symbols surrounding it. Mabel had noticed it before, but she never paid it much mind. It wasn’t like Bill was super important those years ago. Well…at least not to her…

“What do you think it means?” Mabel asked.

“I don’t know,” Dipper said. “But do you see that?” He pointed to the pine tree, the shooting star, and the journal symbols.

“I get the journal and the pine tree, but what about the star?” Mabel asked. She recognized the pine tree from Dipper’s old hat and the journal from the cover.

“You were wearing a shooting star sweater when we first came to Gravity Falls,” Dipper said. “Bill even calls you that. He calls me ‘pine tree’ and you ‘shooting star’. What if we have something to do with this and he calls us by that to identify our relationship with the circle?”

“I guess it’s a possibility,” Mabel said. “But that sounds way bigger than just us. I mean, there are plenty of symbols in the circ…” Mabel slumped her shoulders over, eyes widened in shock.

“What is it?” Dipper asked.

“It’s the symbol of Grunkle Stan’s hat.”

* * *

_“That’s it!” Dipper exclaimed. “I’m getting sick of you doing this to me! You’re destroying my family and my life!”_

_“You know how to get rid of me,” Bill responded. He held out his hand with a blue flame accompanying it. “Are you finally ready to make a deal?”_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phhwlqj djdlq.


	20. Chapter 20

“Finally, after all this time…” Stan trailed off. The timer had thirty seconds left on it. That was hardly any time at all compared to how long he had been waiting all these years. Finally, he would see his brother again.

“Grunkle Stan!” he heard Mabel call. Stan frowned. She sounded panicked, but he couldn’t just leave the portal like this. Not when there were only a few seconds left.

10…9…8…7…6…5…

“Grunkle Stan!” Mabel called again.

3…2…1…

When the timer stopped, the portal let out a burst of light before promptly collapsing into several pieces. Stan almost thought that it hadn’t worked, and that he had done something wrong until the smoke cleared.

There he was.

His brother.

He looked much different than the nerd that had been frightfully sucked away into the portal those years ago. Like Stan’s, his brother’s hair had grayed and he was much older. Stan was actually surprised at how much they still looked alike after so many years.

“Stanford…” Stan trailed off.

“Stanley, you idiot!” Stanford exclaimed before pushing his brother over. “You weren’t supposed to bring me back like this! Do you know what you’ve done?!”

“I saved your life, that’s what I did!” Stan retorted.

“Grunkle Stan!” Mabel called again.

“Oh, god, I forgot,” Stan said, turning to rush upstairs.

“Wait a second!” Stanford called, pulling Stan back. “Does anyone know about this?”

“No,” Stan said. “But I don’t have time to sit and chat right now, Ford. I got a niece upstairs that needs something important.”

“Niece?” Ford asked as Stan left him in the basement.

Stan rushed upstairs and left the vending machine before finding Mabel upstairs looking for him.

“Mabel?” Stan asked. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

“Dipper’s gone.”

* * *

“This is _so_ not what I had in mind for today,” Stan grumbled to himself. He had left Ford behind with no explanation as to where he was going, taking Mabel into the forest with him. He couldn’t introduce Mabel to his long lost brother without Dipper, and he was more important at the moment. Ford would be fine in the shack by himself, but Dipper could be hurting himself.

Mabel had already explained that she looked everywhere in the shack and that Dipper was nowhere to be found, which meant that he was outside somewhere. Stan had told Soos and Wendy and they all split up to find Dipper in the forest. Well, Soos and Wendy split up, but Stan kept Mabel by his side. He couldn’t just let her walk away and lose both the twins.

“Dipper!” Mabel called every once in a while as they walked through the forest.

“What if he’s in town?” Stan asked. It wasn’t like the forest was Dipper’s favorite place or anything. Well, not recently, anyway.

“He was here last time he went missing,” Mabel said. She wondered if this had anything to do with the journal. Because like Dipper, the journal was gone.

“Maybe he changed up his routine,” Stan suggested. “It’s not like he’s gonna go to the forest every time he runs off. He’s probably at the diner or something eating pancakes on my tab.” Stan was really just trying to make Mabel feel better.

“I know he’s in the forest, Grunkle Stan,” Mabel said. “I can feel it.”

And Stan couldn’t protest to it. Because he knew all too well what it was like to feel a lost twin brother.

“Well, we’ll keep looking,” Stan said.

They found Dipper in the same clearing they had spotted him in last time. The journal was clutched tightly in his hand, and Stan couldn’t help but notice there was blood on the book. It was dripping from Dipper’s arm.

“Dipper…” Stan trailed off, wanting to approach his nephew in a gentle way. If he made one wrong move, Dipper could do something really stupid. As it was, last time he ran away and hurt his ankle.

“Stanley,” a voice sounded behind Stan and he couldn’t help but whip around to see Ford standing there.

“What are you doing here?” Stan asked. “I left you in the Shack for a reason.” He didn’t want the twins to find out about Ford right now. They needed to be in the right conditions for an explanation.

“Oh, good old Fordsy,” Dipper said with a grin. “I was wondering how long you’d take to show up.”

“Bill…” Ford trailed off as he stared into golden eyes.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pdqlsxodwlrq.
> 
> Aaahhh this one was super short, but I wanted to cut it off right here just to leave you guys hanging. I’ll try and make the next chapter super long for you.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are having a great Sunday! I'm working all day.

“Um, who are you and how do you know about Bill?” Mabel asked. She had to force herself to pry her eyes off of her brother to face Ford.

“We’ll talk about that later; right now we need to deal with this,” Ford said. “That boy is possessed by a demon named Bill. He’s in grave danger.”

“Wait, you mean Dipper’s not...uh…sensitive?” Stan asked, avoiding the word ‘crazy’.

“No!” Mabel exclaimed. “Bill’s been haunting his dreams and hurting him inside of them. Whenever he wakes up, the injuries are real!”

“This is serious,” Ford said. “Where are my journals?”

“Well, I’ve got two of them back in the shack, but Dipper’s holding the third one in his hand,” Stan said. “Good luck trying to pry the thing away from him. He’s been obsessed with it since he was twelve years old.”

“You let a child get my journal?!” Ford exclaimed.

“ _You’re_ the author of the journals?” Mabel asked with wide eyes. If only Dipper was able to react. He would probably scream or puke or something.

“That’s not important right now; we need to get rid of Bill!” Ford pressed. “We need to get my journals and fix this right now.”

“Careful, careful,” Bill said from Dipper’s body with a sinister grin. “If you do something stupid, I might just do something stupid to this precious boy of yours.”

“You wouldn’t hurt your vessel,” Ford said. “You _couldn’t_ hurt your vessel.”

“I’ve been doing it all this time,” Bill said. He removed Dipper’s sweatshirt to reveal the scars that littered the boy’s skin from years of abuse. “I might have to do something drastic this time, though. I don’t think another measly little scar in this mess would cause you much turmoil.”

“You let my brother go, you evil Dorito!” Mabel exclaimed.

“Did she just call me a Dorito?” Bill asked.

“Grab him!” Stan exclaimed, lunging at the teenager. He wrapped his arms around Bill and kept him restrained while the body kicked and struggled. He couldn’t let the dream demon hurt Dipper if he had anything to do with it.

“You can’t do anything to me! I am a creature of ultimate power!” Bill exclaimed.

“But right now you’re in the body of a teenage boy,” Stan said. “A teenage boy who hasn’t slept in days.”

* * *

“Why would Dipper make a deal with Bill?” Mabel asked when they returned to the Shack. Ford and Mabel were keeping an eye on Bill, who was currently tied to a chair in the attic, while Stan fetched the journals. Ford had explained his identity to Mabel by now, but she was more concerned about her brother. Stan could have a secret twin brother all he wanted as long as she got hers back. And Ford had to know what he was doing if he was the author of the journals.

“He could have done it for a number of reasons,” Ford answered. “Usually people want money or power when they make a deal with someone as evil as Bill. Perhaps he could have even been searching for knowledge.” Ford thought back to his own youth when all he wanted was knowledge. He had risked everything to get it.

“But Dipper’s not like that,” Mabel said. “He still cries over movies about puppies and broken puzzles. He’s never wanted power or money.” Dipper had always been physically weaker than the average boy his age, but he knew it, and he never expressed wanting anything to change it. Sometimes he even joked about it. He wouldn’t have sold his body and soul to have greater power.

“He said he wanted it to be over,” Bill said. “He wanted to die.” The demon grinned inside of Dipper’s body. Oh, how he loved to play with the Pines family. They were all so foolish and yearned for their desires so much that they would give their own lives for it.

“He wouldn’t have wanted that,” Mabel argued. “He wanted to stop you. We were talking about getting rid of you and figuring out a way how. We were close; he wouldn’t have wanted to die.”

“Sorry to tell you that you don’t know Pine Tree as much as you think, Shooting Star,” Bill said.

“Dipper and I tell each other everything!” Mabel exclaimed.

“Did he tell you about me?” Bill asked. “About how I started his torture when he was twelve years old and didn’t stop until last night, when he gave his body to me? How I littered his body with scratches and scars? How I made it appear as though he had attempted suicide in California? Did he tell you all that?”

Mabel stopped. He didn’t tell her any of that. Dipper kept everything a secret until the very end, and even when he had admitted Bill’s existence, he still didn’t give all of the details.

“He didn’t tell you about this either,” Bill said with a laugh. “You thought he was going to help you get rid of me when he had already given up! He was defeated!”

“Hush, Cipher!” Ford exclaimed. “Mabel, go see where Stanley is with the journals. We need to finish this as quickly as possible.”

Mabel kept her gaze away from Dipper’s body after he had spoken up. Though, before she walked out of the room, she took one last glace at the demon.

“I’m coming back, Dipper.”

As soon as Mabel left the room, Ford directed his glare toward Bill.

“Tell me everything you know.”

“Oh, does the great Ford Pines seek more knowledge?” Bill asked, his eyes slitting at the memory of those days when Ford was just a kid that didn’t know any better. “Perhaps nostalgia is running through you at your own nephew doing the exact same thing you did.”

“I don’t want you in my head,” Ford said sternly, “but I want you out of _his_.”

“I don’t think I can do that for ya, Fordsy,” Bill said. “You see; this kid made a deal with me. He’s _mine_.”

“He’s just a kid,” Ford argued. “Haven’t you had enough fun with him?” Ford had been a bit confused with how much interest a demon could have in a kid for so long. While he hadn’t been there at the time, Bill had said himself that he had been terrorizing Dipper since he was twelve.

“I’ve had enough fun with him when I said I’ve had enough fun with him,” Bill stated. “It’s not really Pine Tree by himself, though. It’s all of you playing right into everything.”

“What?” Ford asked.

“I take the kid out and start making everyone thinking he’s losing his mind,” Bill started, “then I make his parents concerned. Fake a couple suicide attempts and it becomes real easy to make the kid start thinking he’s insane himself. Hell, I had this whole family thinking he was a Schizophrenic this entire time.”

“How could you do something like that?”

“Duh!” Bill exclaimed. “I’m a demon! What did you expect? A party?”

“What can I do to make you let him go?” Ford asked.

“You can…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> D edujdlq.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guys believe this started out as a Fullmetal Alchemist fic?

“You can give me _nothing_!” Bill exclaimed joyfully. He was having _far_ too much fun with the Pines family to give it up so easily. He was at least going to make them _beg_ for their little pine tree back. Make them offer their entire beings and be kissing the ground at his feet before he gave up the kid.

“Why do you want him so badly?” Ford asked, trying to hide the desperation. He didn’t even know who this kid was, but the one thing he did know was that they were family. And even if they weren’t, Dipper was just a kid that didn’t need to be involved in any of this.

“Because I _love_ messing with you,” Bill explained. “It was the same with the two of us. Remember?”

“I remember,” Ford replied. He didn’t _want_ to remember. Thirsting for knowledge so badly that he abandoned his own twin brother selfishly. That Stan had thought his brother was losing his mind only to lose him to the very thing he had tried to save him from. Ford remembered it.

“You and Pine Tree are a lot alike,” Bill mused. “The smart twin aching for knowledge. Obsessed with the abnormal. Held back by your twins.”

“Stanley _never_ held me back!” Ford exclaimed.

“Oh?” Bill raised an eyebrow. “I seem to remember a different tune years ago.”

“I’ve changed since then,” Ford remarked. “I’ve changed for the better.”

“It only took about thirty years,” Bill commented. “But it doesn’t matter how much you’ve changed. Because I’ve got a new set of twins here. But I’m doing it differently this time. I just don’t know how. Should I have him cut off his own arms? Maybe his legs? Stop me when you think of one you like.”

“You’re sick,” Ford spat. “And you’re going back to the hell I brought you from.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Bill replied.

“You hush, Cipher.” Ford dipped down toward the ground and lifted the journal that Bill had dropped during his struggles to prevent being tied to the chair. It was the third one, and Ford skimmed through it. He couldn’t help but notice the little notes that had been added by Dipper and smiled softly to himself. Dipper _was_ a lot like him.

“Aw, getting all sentimental, Fordsy?” Bill asked with a sadistic grin.

“I’ve got the journals!” Stan exclaimed suddenly as he burst into the attic with Mabel in front of him. He handed over the other two journals to Ford, hoping his brother knew what he was doing. He _couldn’t_ let anything happen to Dipper.

“Thank you, Stanley,” Ford thanked as he opened the journal to the page he was looking for. “Now, I recited a particular spell when I first summoned Bill and we’re doing to need to recite the reversal spell.”

“ _You_ summoned Bill?” Mabel asked, her eyes wide. This man, her great uncle, had summoned the very creature that was destroying her brother. _He_ had been the one to cause all the pain. After everything was over with, Mabel wasn’t sure how she would feel about this man.

“He sure did,” Bill replied. “He wanted to know more about abnormalities and the paranormal. Just like your _brother_.” He grinned.

“Just ignore him,” Ford spoke. “I’ll explain everything after this is over, but we need to focus on the reversal spell.”

“So basically we’re exorcising him?” Stan asked.

“Precisely,” Ford replied. “While it only took the chants of one when I summoned him, the reversal will be more effective if all three of us recite it.”

“Just tell me what to do,” Mabel said.

Ford laid the books flat in front of Bill, though it was an unnecessary step. He hadn’t yet had the journals when he summoned Bill and thus knew it wasn’t needed. But he knew it would be easier for Stan and Mabel to remember the verse if it was in front of them. He then shined light on all three of the journals to reveal the spell in invisible ink.

“Now, we’re going to chant this together, all right?” Ford instructed.

“How will we know when it’s worked?” Stan asked.

“I’ll tell you when to stop,” Ford answered.

_“Epistrefo na o lokasi se poio eseis irthe.”_

The three of them joined hands and chanted this phrase over again. They were determined for Bill to be sent back to hell. Back out of their lives.

“Wait!” Dipper’s voice called out. “Stop! It hurts!”

Mabel nearly stopped chanting, but Ford pulled her back. He shook his head. That was not Dipper.

“Stop! You’re hurting me!” Dipper continued to call out. He writhed in the chair he was bound to as the three of them continued to chant. Mabel wanted to reach out to her brother. She wanted to stop hurting him.

_“Stop!”_

Dipper’s body suddenly went limp with blue fog creeping out of his mouth and burning into the floor.

“We’re done,” Ford announced, reaching forward to collect his books off the ground. Stan and Mabel rushed toward Dipper to untie him.

“Why’s he unconscious?” Stan asked worriedly. He hurriedly moved Dipper to his bed for more comfort.

“He’s probably just exhausted,” Ford replied. “After all, he wasn’t getting any sleep from Bill inhabiting his body. It could also be an after effect of being possessed.”

“Oh, Dipper,” Mabel nearly cried out as she held her brother while sitting on his bed. “I’m so sorry…”

“There’s nothing for you to be sorry for, pumpkin,” Stan spoke, reaching an arm to wrap around Mabel as she held her brother. “It wasn’t your fault. If anything, I should have noticed.”

“No, _I_ should have never summoned that demon in the first place,” Ford interjected. “I’m so sorry for bringing him on this family.”

“You’re darn right you’re sorry!” Stan exclaimed as he stood from holding Mabel to stand in front of his twin brother. “You should have never been dabbling in that kind of stuff in the first place!”

“I know, Stanley,” Ford replied.

“And you should have never sold your soul!”

“I know, Stanley.”

“And you should have never left me!”

Ford paused.

“I know, Stanley.”

* * *

Brown eyes opened to scan the room. Dipper sighed in relief when he realized he was just in the attic of the Mystery Shack, and not in the forest. He hadn’t remembered his dreams being plagued with Bill’s presence, so at least he was able to get a few good hours.

“How are you feeling?” Mabel asked softly when she noticed that Dipper’s eyes were open, if only slightly. He had been relatively still throughout his sleep, which wasn’t normal for him. But what _was_ normal for Dipper anymore? Mabel didn’t even know.

“I feel like I was run over by a semi-truck and then it backed up to finish the job,” Dipper answered. “But it actually feels…better.”

“You’ve been feeling _worse_ than that over the past few years?” Mabel asked, her eyebrows contorting in confusion. “Dipper, I’m…I’m so so-”

“Don’t say you’re sorry,” Dipper replied. “I…I’m sorry for burdening you with all of this. I’ll start taking my meds again.”

“No, Dipper,” Mabel spoke. “You don’t need to take medicine anymore. We…We got rid of Bill.”

“What?!” Dipper exclaimed. “How?! When?!”

“Well, we actually had a little help,” Mabel explained. “You see…Grunkle Stan actually has a brother…a _twin_ brother…and he helped us.”

“He knew about Bill?” Dipper asked.

“He _summoned_ Bill,” Mabel answered. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about Ford because of it.

“Oh…”

“But he helped to save you from Bill and…and I’m really grateful to him,” Mabel muttered. “I’m just so glad you’re okay.” She wiped the corner of her left eye as a tear drooped down.

“Hey, don’t cry over me,” Dipper spoke as he reached up and caressed Mabel’s cheek. “Let’s go downstairs, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Hey, you’re up and around!” Stan called out happily when he saw Mabel and Dipper enter the kitchen. Stan was working on breakfast while Ford was sitting at the table reading the newspaper.

“Yeah, I’m feeling better,” Dipper replied. He couldn’t help but notice Ford sitting at the table, but he didn’t want to stare at him too much. Ford also peeked over his newspaper, only to quickly look away when he caught Dipper staring. Dipper also averted his gaze.

“Well, sit down and have some eggs and Stancakes,” Stan said as he placed plates on the table.

“No glitter?” Mabel asked, feigning sadness. She was trying to keep the dynamic up as much as possible.

“Sorry, sweets, no glitter today,” Stan replied. “But maybe some another time. After your brother gets his stamina up again and his body can handle processing glitter.”

“I don’t think that’s how anatomy works,” Dipper commented.

“Eh, whatever,” Stan brushed it off. “Sit down and eat your breakfast.”

Dipper and Mabel made their way to the table just as Stan did and the three began to eat before Ford put down his paper and also began to eat.

“So, uh…” Dipper trailed off, not knowing how to address the situation. “You’re our Grunkle Stan’s brother, huh…Guess that makes you our grunkle too.”

“You can call me Ford,” Ford introduced. “I’m sure your sister has already explained what happened to you.”

“Bits and pieces,” Dipper replied. “I…I just was wondering…how’d you know how to do it?”

“You didn’t tell him yet?” Ford asked Mabel.

“He’s very sensitive,” Mabel spoke. “I wanted to wait until he got something to eat first and let his food settle so he didn’t throw up all over the place.”

“ _What_?” Dipper asked.

“Well, I knew how to exorcise Bill because I summoned him,” Ford explained. “And I had the incantation in the journals I wrote.”

“You…” Dipper trailed off. “ _You_ wrote the journals?!”

“Here we go,” Stan muttered.

“Oh god…” Dipper had to actually work to control his breathing. “Wow…I mean…Wow! You’re…the _author_ of the _journals_! Oh wow!”

“Here it comes,” Mabel muttered.

“Oh god! I’m gonna…I’m gonna throw up!”

“And there it goes,” Ford spoke as Dipper ran from the room.

* * *

“Thanks, Grunkle Stan, Grankle Ford; for everything,” Dipper thanked as he stood with his two uncles and Mabel at the bus stop. “This was…probably the best summer I’ve had in years.”

“You’re gonna have to go to a psychiatrist to convince your parents that you’re better, you know,” Stan reminded. “But I doubt they’ll continue to think you’re nuts for long. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders.”

“Hey, Dipper,” Ford interjected. “I got you a little something. For when you get back home.” He dug into his coat pocket and removed a fresh journal and handed it over to the kid. It was nearly identical to Ford’s journals, though while Ford’s had a tracing of his hand on the cover, this one had a drawing of Dipper’s birth mark on the cover. “So you can start your own collection.”

“Wow…” Dipper trailed off as he traced the journal with his hand. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Your sister drew the cover; I hope it’s abnormal enough for you,” Ford joked.

“Thank you,” Dipper thanked. “I’ll write in it any chance I get.”

“And he’s not lying either,” Mabel replied. “He stayed up _super_ late and wrote in your journal _forever._ ” Ford smiled; he had read it.

“We’ll see you two next summer,” Stan spoke as the bus for California approached. “Stay safe.”

The twins turned and entered the bus once it had stopped for them only to have Mabel’s head pop out of a window moments later.

“Bye, Grunkles!” Mabel called out as the bus drove away.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wkh hqg.
> 
> That was…difficult to write. I didn’t want to have it exactly like the show, but I couldn’t really think of any way to get rid of Bill, so I went the Supernatural route and was like, eh, I could exorcise him. So he got exorcised. It was my first Gravity Falls fic, so I hope no one is super disappointed.
> 
> Thanks to all my reviewers and followers on this story! I’m gonna have to say that I probably won’t write another Gravity Falls fic, if at all. Mostly because I’m not really even into the show anymore with it being almost a year since the ending of it, and because I’ve just moved on to other fandoms. I’m still strong with Supernatural and Fullmetal Alchemist, and I’ve even recently (as of writing this on December 28th) become a fan of Star Trek, so I’m hoping to start writing that. So, yeah, that’s about it.
> 
> Thanks again, you guys!


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